Nailed Shut
by yourrecordsallilistento
Summary: Usually, death is something that separates people. For Kurt and Blaine however, death is what brings them together.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Glee, any of their characters or anything that can be related to something that exists in the real word.

**Warnings:** Occasional swearing. Violence/injuries in future chapters.

**Author's notes:** So I couldn't get this story out of my mind. It was supposed to be a oneshot, but I was at page 11 and FAR from done, so I decided to make it into chapters. I hope you like it! :)

_Italic text is Kurt's experiences._  
>Normal text is Blaine's experiences. <strong><br>_Italic Bold text is Kurt's memories._  
>Normal Bold text is Blaine's memories.<strong>

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><p><strong>Nailed Shut<strong>

Chapter 1

_Kurt Hummel finds himself roaming the tall halls of Dalton Academy. He doesn't know how he ended up there and he doesn't know why he has no urge to leave. He doesn't know if he has actually been there before, but the place feels so familiar somehow. It is starting to get dark outside, Kurt notices as a boy in blue rushes past him. He follows him down the hall with his eyes, wondering if maybe he should have asked him something, but he just can't seem to think of anything to ask._

_Kurt starts to look around and finds many tall rooms, some full of fitness equipment and some full of books. He goes back into the hallway and hears the faint sound of singing. He follows the multiple male voices and ends up outside an open door, the voices flowing out into the hallway. He peeks inside, not wanting to disturb and sees a bunch of boys in blue blazers doing some kind of singing and dancing number. He looks at them for a while, enjoying their acapella performance. They stop and sit down in a couple of couches placed in the room, facing a long table where three of them place themselves. A dark-skinned boy starts talking about some singing competition and then they all get up and start walking toward the door, toward Kurt. Kurt hides behind the door, not wanting them to see that he was watching them. They pass by him, walking in different directions. None of them notice him, and he is glad. The boy that talked earlier walks out last, together with a boy that looks like he might have Asian roots, and a boy with dark curly hair. They close and lock the door, Kurt standing petrified against the wall, since he can no longer hide behind the door. They just continue their conversation and walk off. Kurt wonders where they are going so he follows them, a few meters behind. _

_Kurt follows the three boys through the empty halls, up a stairwell and to a long corridor with multiple doors on both sides. The curly-haired boy says goodnight to the other two and they disappear into a room in the beginning of the corridor. Kurt stops and looks at the third boy that continues to walk to a door farthest away, next to a tall window with heavy red curtains. He steps inside and Kurt wonders what he should do now. He notices suddenly that he feels tired and that his head is aching. He waits for a long while, just staring out the window at the full moon. He decides that he should try to get some sleep. Kurt walks toward the window, and that last door. He opens the door as quietly as he can and steps inside. He can hear steady breathing from the far side of the room. It is completely dark, so he drags his hands across the walls next to the door and finds the light switch after about a minute of searching. The room is lit up and Kurt looks in horror toward the bed, forgetting that the light might wake the boy up. It doesn't though, so Kurt looks around. _

_The walls are littered with photos of boys, and Kurt recognizes them all from the singing group earlier. On the wall next to the bed is a picture in a thin silver frame, of the curly-haired boy with an equally curly-haired girl on his lap. The two look kind of similar and Kurt figures that is must be the boy's little sister, maybe four or five years old. On the other side of the room, in a corner, is a big flowerpot with a small, bushy tree in it. Kurt has seen those kinds of trees before, but he can't place where. For some reason he starts thinking about clothes and coffee though. He shakes his head and walks closer, seeing as there seems to be something on the wall behind it. When he is next to the small tree he moves a few branches and sees another photo, this one with a thick golden frame. In the photo there is a woman that resembles the little girl from the other photo a lot, except the girl was smiling and this woman has sadness in her eyes, her lips closed tight. Next to her is a man in a suit, looking stern. He looks a lot like the boy, except his hair isn't curly and Kurt has only seen him smile. The man looks like the kind of man that never smiles, for whatever reason. Kurt thinks that those people might be the boy and girl's parents, but he can't think of a reason one would want to hide a picture of one's parents behind a tree. Parents are amazing, Kurt thinks, though he doesn't think about it further than that. _

_Kurt sits down in a red armchair close to another door that he thinks might lead to a bathroom. He tries to sleep, but can't remember how to. So he sits and looks at the sleeping boy, his curls now loose from the product it seemed to be covered in before. Kurt stops thinking completely, and just follows the rise and fall of the duvet covering the boy._

Blaine Anderson starts noticing things in the end of October.

When he awakes on a Thursday morning after a late night Warbler meeting, the lights in his room are on. He always turns the lights off before he goes to sleep. He thinks that it's weird, but forgets about it when he realizes he overslept about ten minutes. He rushes to get ready and runs out the door toward his morning class.

_Kurt wakes up – or so he thinks, he must have fallen asleep at some point – when the sun shines in through the window. He looks at the bed to find that the curly-haired boy is missing. He thinks that it's odd that the boy didn't wake him, or throw him out when he found him creeping in his room that morning. But maybe he is just a nice guy, that lets strangers sleep in his room even if he has never seen them before. Kurt wonders where the boy went, so he gets out of the chair and out of the room. He first searches in the room where all the boys sang yesterday, but the room is empty. He walks around the big building, looking into classrooms and seeing several of the boys from the singing-group, but not the curly-haired one. Kurt wants to ask the boy why he didn't wake him so he continues looking for him. He searches all day, wandering up and down the hallways, not thinking about how nobody seems to notice him being there. Kurt passes a window and sees that it is once again starting to go dark outside. He enters a room full of shelves of books and a few armchairs in one corner. The curly-haired boy is sitting in one of the puffy armchairs, reading something while tapping a pencil against a notebook on his knee. He doesn't seem to notice Kurt's presence and Kurt doesn't want to disturb him, so he walks over to a shelf to look at the books. He finds one about fashion in the last century, and he wants to read it for some reason. He reaches out his hand to grab the book, but looks back at the boy first to see if he is less occupied now. He isn't, so Kurt grabs the book. He doesn't though, he just grabs the air. He looks back at the book, thinking that he must have had his hand too far away to actually grab it while he was looking at the boy. So he tries again, but just grabs air again. Kurt thinks that is really odd, he saw his hand grabbing the book. He concentrates really hard and grabs the book again. He succeeds this time and drags the book out from between the other ones. He is glad he got a hold of the book this time and looks back at the boy again. The book falls to the floor with a loud thud. _

Blaine looks up from his history book when he hears a loud thud from the other side of the library. He sees a thick book lying on the ground. But there is no one in the library but him. That is really weird Blaine thinks, closing his history book and standing up. He debates in his head if he should put the book back on the shelf or not, but decides against it and returns to his dorm room.

_Kurt watches as the curly-haired boy looks over, at the book on the floor. He looks concerned. Kurt watches him get his things and stand, looking like he is deciding something in his head, before walking hurriedly out of the room. Kurt thinks that maybe the boy got angry at him now, for getting to sleep in the boy's room and then disturbing him while he was studying. That was very rude of me, Kurt thinks and there is a sudden pain in his chest. It is the first thing Kurt has actually felt since he arrived at Dalton, but he doesn't realize that._

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><p><em>Kurt doesn't look for the curly-haired boy anymore. He doesn't want to disturb him again, or make him even angrier. So Kurt spends his nights sleeping in that chair the boy had sat in and his days walking around Dalton, finding out more about the place he is in. He wonders how and why he came here, but he can't think of a reason not to stay.<em>

_After two days Kurt thinks it is a Saturday. He heard a few boys talking about it being the beginning of the weekend in the hallway the day before. The boys of Dalton seem to be planning a Halloween-party the same evening and Kurt thinks that he should find and apologize to the curly-haired boy. In the evening Kurt once again hears the voices of the acapella group coming from that singing-room. He walks past a couple of boys talking in the hallway but he doesn't hear them, he only hears the singing. "Did you hear about that guy in Lima-" one of the boys begins, but the other one interrupts him with "Yes, I did. It's so horrible!". Kurt stands right outside the door listening again. And when he looks inside he sees that the singing boys are all in their Halloween-costumes. It takes Kurt a moment to find the curly-haired boy, but finally his eyes settle on his smiling face. He is wearing a red and orange piece of cardboard cut into the shape of a flame on his head. He has another piece of cardboard around his body. It has holes for his arms and it is colored pink, with diagonal lines across it in a darker shade of pink. The boys are done singing and most of them leave the room. The Asian-looking boy and the dark-skinned boy walk up to the curly-haired boy, eyeing his costume. _

"Nice Batman-costume, Wes. Really original." Blaine teases his friend.

"I'm Superman!"

"I can see that, David. Also, very original." Blaine chuckles.

"What are you even supposed to be?" Wes asks, seeming slightly annoyed.

"I'm a birthday cake-candle!" Blaine exclaims and does a silly spin.

"Oh my GOD, Blaine! You are ridiculous." Wes says and storms out of the room, David on his heels.

Blaine looks after them and chuckles. He thinks he sees a flash of blue from the doorway, so he moves closer. He closes the doors to the empty room they had been singing in, and looks at the empty wall behind it. He sees the blue flash again, blinking rapidly and hurrying away toward the room where the party is being held.

_Blaine. His name is Blaine. And the other two are Wes and David. But Blaine… Why was he just looking at me like that? It was like he couldn't even see me, like he looked right through me. Can't anybody see me? Kurt races after the boy – Blaine – to a room full of Halloween decorations and dancing boys in costumes. Kurt feels loneliness now, but he doesn't realize. He looks around the room to find Blaine, but he is lost in the sea of boys. Kurt needs somebody to see him. He walks up to about a dozen different boys, tapping them on the shoulders and asking "Can you hear me?", but nobody reacts. Except for one boy that starts scratching absentmindedly at the spot where Kurt touched him. Fear starts bubbling in Kurt's chest, so he focuses all the energy he has left on tipping over a cup of punch from a long table. The boy nearest the cup swears when he thinks he was the cause._

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><p><em>Kurt wakes up on the floor of the room, that is now empty except for a small group still standing by the punch bowl. Blaine is among them, as is Wes and David. Kurt walks over to them, defeated. He taps on all of their shoulders, whispering "Can you hear me?". He isn't really trying, but says the words a bit louder when he touches the last shoulder, Blaine's.<em>

"Whoa!" Blaine whips around, looking behind himself.

"What?" Jeff asks him, and moves his blonde bangs from his eyes.

"Who of you touched me?" Blaine asks, glaring at the other boys.

"Nobody touched you. You were looking right at us, talking! You'd see if one of us did that." David says and furrows his eyebrows.

"Then who whispered?" Blaine looks at each of them, a bit freaked out now.

"Nobody is whispering." Nick says and looks concerned.

"You just have the Halloween spookies." Wes declares.

"The what?" Blaine narrows his eyes at his friend.

"It's Halloween! Everybody is more on edge today. You think you see and hear stuff all night, most people do. But it's just your imagination." Wes explains, not only Blaine looking at him strangely.

"Whatever! I'll just go to bed." Blaine says and throws his cup in one of the temporary trashcans (which is just a big black plastic bag hung on a chair).

"And miss Freddy VS Jason?" Jeff squeaks.

"Yes, Jeff. If I've got the Halloween spookies as Wes thinks, then I don't need to watch any scary movies." Blaine starts walking away from the group, but looks back for a moment. "Good night guys."

_He felt it! He heard me! I have to keep trying. Kurt follows Blaine back to his room, but stays outside the door for a few minutes waiting. Blaine is probably going to get out of that costume and go to the bathroom and put on his pajamas and… _

_After about ten minutes Kurt opens the door and finds Blaine on his bed, leaning against the headboard of the bed. He has a lamp lit on the nightstand, a book open on his knees and a pair of glasses on his nose. _

Blaine is reading a book that he sometimes reads to his little sister when she is scared. Blaine isn't really scared, as much as he is freaked out. He hears his door open and sighs quietly, waiting for one of the Warblers to come in and ask him about his sudden departure from the party. He looks up to find the doorway empty. He closes the book and puts it on his nightstand, folding the glasses on top before walking over to the door. He looks outside but there is nobody there. "Halloween spookies" Blaine tells himself in his head as he closes the door. When he walks past his armchair he suddenly shivers. He repeats Wes' words again in his head, getting back under his comforter. He hears a creak and looks over to his window. It is open slightly. "What the hell is this?" he hisses and stands again, closing the window and getting back in bed hurriedly. The window creaks again and he looks back to see it opening slowly, little by little. That window is usually very easy to open, it pretty much slides up by itself. But this is weird, really weird. This time Blaine crawls down deeper under his duvet, pulling it up to his nose. When the window is open as far as it will go, the wind blowing a few orange leaves through the opening, it starts to close back down again. Even slower. "This isn't happening. This isn't happening. This isn't happening!" Blaine whispers to himself and closes his eyes, feeling tears prickling behind his lids.

_Kurt hears the click of the window when he finally closes it all the way. Blaine felt me earlier, and heard me. He can see the things I am doing now. There has to be a way to make Blaine see me. But Kurt can see that Blaine is crying silently now. So he decides to stop. This must be really scary for Blaine. Kurt thinks that maybe whatever is happening should be scary to him too, but he can't find it in him to figure this out. Kurt sits down in Blaine's armchair and there is the tiniest of thuds as he does so. _

Blaine looks over at his armchair where he thought he had heard something. There is of course nothing there to see. Except for the sudden flash of blue again, and something brown and red too. Blaine blinks away the last of his tears, rubbing at his eyes with his fist. He looks again and there is nothing. He lets out a shuddering breath before turning his lamp off and turning his back to the chair, trying his best to fall asleep.

_Kurt sighs. "I will try again tomorrow." he whispers. He is absolutely exhausted after using all his energy on that window, so he passes out for the second time that night._

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><p><strong>To be continued.<strong>

**Author's notes: **Please review so I know if I should continue this story. Love you all. :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Glee, any of their characters or anything that can be related to something that exists in the real word.

**Warnings:** Violence/injuries. Occasional swearing.

**Author's notes:** So this chapter was pretty much done when I posted the first one, so after having fun this weekend I finished it quickly. The next chapter will be up before the weekend, perhaps even tomorrow if nothing special happens. I hope you like this chapter! :)

_Italic text is Kurt's experiences._  
>Normal text is Blaine's experiences. <strong><br>_Italic Bold text is Kurt's memories._  
>Normal Bold text is Blaine's memories.<strong>

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><p><strong>Nailed Shut<strong>

Chapter 2 

Blaine wakes up with a mild headache the day after the big Dalton Halloween-party. He remembers what happened with the window and looks over to see that it's closed, four orange leaves on the floor below it. So it did happen… Blaine brushes his teeth in his bathroom and skips putting gel in his hair. He changes out of his pajamas and into a pair of sweatpants and a navy turtleneck sweater, before grabbing his pea coat and rushing out from his room.

It's a beautiful Sunday morning, autumn leaves glowing like fire in the sun as Blaine drives down a winding gravel road toward a small house on the edge of Westerville. He parks his car next to an old truck and gets out of the car. A woman with curly gray hair – in a bun on the back of her head – is standing on the front porch, hands clasped in front of her.

"Blaine, honey. I've been expecting you." the woman says as Blaine walks up the steps to bend and hug her unbelievably short frame.

"Hi grandma." Blaine says and smiles at her before she turns and leads him into the house.

"Do you want some tea?" she asks and turns her back to him, heading for the kitchen as he sits down on one of the two facing couches.

"Yes, please." Blaine removes his coat and drapes it over the armrest.

He hasn't visited his grandmother in a long time. Not since he was about ten years old. They talk fairly often on the phone, and she usually visits for Christmases and such. Blaine looks around the living room, his eyes roaming over the wallpaper with the insane pattern and all the bottles filled with odd liquids on shelves along the walls. His eyes fall on a huge framed picture of his grandfather on the side of the staircase. Blaine never met grandpa Rolf since he died twenty-five years ago, but grandma Lily has shown him lots of pictures of him. She has also told him stories about how his grandfather was a sailor, a Viking, before they met and settled down in this house to have Blaine's mother. Rolf had been barely sixty when he died, so he is still fairly young in all the pictures his grandmother has shown him. At least if he compares him to how she looks now, at eighty-five. His hair, beard and mustache are a reddish orange color and his eyes a deep green. He was a really handsome man, but Blaine's mother had only gotten her father's jaw-shape, and nothing else to indicate that they were related. Grandma Lily returns to the room with a small silver tray with two big tea mugs on it.

"Let me help you with that." Blaine stands and takes the tray from his grandmother, placing it on the table between the two couches. "You said you have been expecting me. How come?" Blaine takes a mug and leans back in the couch, pressing both hands against the mug to warm them up a bit.

"Rolf told me this morning that you would come talk to me about ghosts today." Lily says, sits down and grabs the other mug of tea.

Blaine nods. He is absolutely certain that his grandmother is not insane in any way, she is a perfectly healthy old woman. And still she sees ghosts. Or the ghost of his grandfather Rolf to be more specific. For twenty-five years she has seen and talked to him. So it isn't something that has come with her old age. "And how did he know?"

"Well, I told him about a suspicion of mine a few months ago and since then he has been visiting you once in a while. And I heard that the annual Halloween-party at Dalton Academy was yesterday. I told him about it, so he thought he'd go see you."

"What suspicion?" Blaine's heart is beating fast and his hands are grabbing the tea mug tightly.

"Calm down, dear. Try the tea. It's delicious." Grandma Lily smiles at him.

Blaine takes a deep breath and tastes the tea. "It is delicious."

"Told you. Now, Blaine. This might be a really frightening conversation for you, but I'll answer all of your questions to the best of my abilities."

"Okay. So, what suspicion was it?"

"That you have the gift, or the curse, depending on how you see it."

"The one you have?"

"The very same. I have suspected that you might have it since you were a wee child, that you are sensitive to spirits. You started showing signs before you could even walk or talk."

"What signs?"

"You would never sleep in your parent's bedroom. Ever. Your mother told me when they bought the house that they got it cheap, because the woman who owned it before them hung herself in that room. So I think you felt that woman somehow."

"So that is why grandpa Rolf visited me. Because he thought he might be able to reach me?"

His grandmother nods, so Blaine continues. "So how did he know that I was coming here today?"

"He went to see you last night and saw another one following you-"

"Another ghost?" Blaine interrupts her, almost spilling the tea on his lap.

"Yes. Another ghost, or spirit. So he hung back and saw that the other one tried to contact you. He seemed to get some reactions from you, didn't he?"

"It's a man?"

"A boy." Blaine just gapes at her so she continues. "Tell me about all the things you experienced last night."

Blaine takes a big gulp of tea before telling his grandmother about everything. The light, the book, the touch, the whisper, the cold spot, the window and the blue flashes. She nods through his story and smiles at the end.

"Those blue flashes you saw-" she begins, smiling even wider at Blaine "were most likely his eyes. And he has probably been trying to get your attention by touching you, talking to you and moving things."

"But why? What does he want?"

"Only he can know. But he might not either."

Blaine is quiet for a while, thinking. His grandmother waits patiently for him to continue.

"Grandma... Has grandpa told you anything about the afterlife? Why and how someone becomes a ghost? What happens if they aren't?"

"I don't know. And he doesn't know. All we know is that he came to me after he died, and I saw him. So he has done nothing to try to go anywhere. He tells me everything, and I do the same. So it doesn't seem like you become a ghost to tell someone something."

"So if I have the gift-" Blaine continues and Lily smiles at his use of the word "gift". "How come I can't see him?"

"Well…" Lily puts her empty mug back on the silver tray. "Since you haven't known, you haven't been very open. Knowing might be the only thing you needed. It's like if you are playing football. If a football is thrown at you, it's thrown at you. If you don't know it's coming you might run sideways to tackle someone and miss it. But if you know it's coming you can catch it."

"Okay, grandma. You know I'm not into sports much, but I think I get what you mean."

They smile at each other. "And if I still can't see him when I get back to Dalton?" Blaine asks.

"You can come back here and I will do my best to help you."

_When Kurt wakes up Blaine is once again missing from his room. Kurt wonders where he went and thinks of a bunch of different possibilities. He looks over at Blaine's desk and sees that Blaine has left his notebook and pencil out. Kurt walks over and picks up the pen, without much difficulty. When he starts to think about what to write however, the pencil goes right through his fingers and falls to the floor. So, I have to concentrate or this won't work. Kurt picks it up and focuses both his eyes and his mind on writing down the words he came up with. He figures Blaine might me gone for a while so he wanders out into the hallways to try to get in contact with someone else._

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><p>Blaine returns to his room and hangs his coat on the hook on the back of the door. When he turns around he steps on something. He looks down to find his pencil under his foot. He picks it up and moves to lay it back on top of his notebook on the desk, but there is something there. "I exist. I'm not here however. Trying Wes and Davi-" is written in a pretty handwriting. The last word isn't finished and since the pencil was on the floor Blaine figures the boy must have dropped it and not bothered to finish. It looks as if the boy might have been very cold, hand shaking, as the letters are kind of wobbly and not written with much pressure.<p>

Blaine needs to find this boy. Or, this boy's ghost. So he heads out to find Wes and David, thinking that they might have noticed something strange today. He finds them in the library and sits down in one of the armchairs next to them.

"Well, hello Blaine." Wes mutters without looking up from his book.

"Are you feeling better today?" David asks, lowering his book and smiling faintly at Blaine.

"I'm fantastic." he exclaims and then focuses his eyes on Wes. "I need you two to tell me if you have noticed anything strange today. Seriously."

"No. What is with you, Blaine?" Wes lowers his book now and Blaine is surprised to see that he looks more concerned than angry.

"I thought I heard something about half an hour ago." David mumbles.

"What? You did? What was it? Where?"

"Right here. I thought I heard someone crying, but I didn't think much about it. It's windy outside…" David says and glances at Wes who is looking at him with a puzzled expression.

"Okay. Thanks, David. I have to go." Blaine rushes out into the hallway, stops and looks wildly in both directions.

Maybe the boy got upset when he couldn't reach Wes and David so he started crying and left. But where did he go? Blaine searches the halls and the common rooms, without really knowing what he is looking for. When darkness falls he has looked everywhere he can think of, even the kitchen and the laundry rooms. So he heads back toward his own dorm room.

"… _Oh please say to me, you'll let me be your man. And please say to me, you'll let me hold your hand. …"_

The voice is faint, but it's coming from the dorm rooms. Blaine rushes closer.

"… _And when I touch you I feel happy, inside. It's such a feeling that my love, I can't hide. I can't hide, I can't hide. …" _

The voice fades off as Blaine stops outside his room. He knocks on it and feels silly, since it is his own room after all. He hears a tiny gasp and opens the door. Blaine stands in the doorway, staring. A boy is sitting in his armchair. A gorgeous boy. The most gorgeous boy Blaine has ever seen. That is not what Blaine had expected. When his grandmother said "boy" Blaine had imagined a child, but this isn't a boy. Blaine would say he's a guy. But to an eighty-five years old woman they are both boys.

The boy looks up at Blaine and he is even more stunned than before. Those blue flashes Blaine saw, they were his eyes. His eyes are a gorgeous blue color, with shades of green and gray. His hair is a beautiful shade of brown, but Blaine thinks "brown" is too bland a word. He finds "chestnut" to be more accurate.

"Hi." Blaine whispers, taking a step into the room and closing the door behind him.

The boy sniffles. "You can see me?"

Blaine nods and the boy lets out a shuddering breath. They are silent for a while, just looking at each other before Blaine asks "What's your name?".

"Kurt Hummel." the boy answers and smiles a little. "And you are Blaine."

"Anderson. Yes." Blaine has heard Kurt's name somewhere before, but can't place it. "Why are you here?"

"I don't know. I just… woke up here, I guess, one day and I noticed no one could see me."

"My grandmother says that you are a ghost."

Kurt makes a humming sound. "That's odd." he says and narrows his eyes at Blaine. "Why didn't you see me before?"

"My grandmother told me that I have the gift, that I can see ghosts, or spirits as she likes to call them. I hadn't thought about it. But after what I saw last night I realized something was going on, so I went to see her this morning and she sees ghost too. Or my grandfather's ghost, to be more specific. So I guess I accepted that ghosts are real and I'm more open now. So I can see you."

"That makes sense." Kurt says and turns his head to look at the wall opposite to him.

Blaine almost vomits. The back of Kurt's head is smashed in. His hair is bloody, and so is the collar of his sky-blue shirt. Blaine can see something mushy and pink, and pieces of white on the back of Kurt's head. He looks away and gags.

"What's wrong?" Kurt asks, looking back at him.

"Why is your head bleeding?"

Kurt furrows his brows and touches the back of his head. They both wince. Kurt looks at his hand and smears the blood between his fingers.

_**A bone chilling scream. A loud crack. Deafening silence. **_

"I was attacked. I guess I died." Kurt says calmly, thoughtfully.

Something stirs in the back of Blaine's mind. **"Did you hear about the guy in Lima?" "No? Tell me." "This guy, Kurt Hummel. He was gay bashed, and he died!" **"How are you calm about that?"

"I don't know. I guess there isn't much I can do if I'm already dead. Also, my feelings seem to be kind of muffled. And I feel like I can't remember things, but I remember that I should remember. You know?"

"Um… I guess." Blaine moves to sit on his bed. "Why do you think you ended up here, and not with your family?"

"I have no idea. I have never been here before."

"So how long have you been here?"

"About a week, I think."

"They must be devastated. Do you want me to take you to them?"

"I don't remember where they are…" Kurt looks sad so Blaine gets off the bed and sits on the floor in front of Kurt's feet.

"There can't be very many Hummel's in Lima, Ohio." Blaine says and reaches out to touch one of Kurt's hands that he has in his lap, on reflex.

Blaine's hand falls through Kurt's hand, his leg and onto the cushion of the armchair. Blaine gasps and pulls his hand back, holding it to his chest. "I'm- I'm so, SO sorry." he squeaks.

"Hold out your hand." Kurt commands.

Blaine reaches it out toward Kurt carefully. Kurt looks at it and reaches his hand out as well. Kurt's eyebrows draw together slightly and he touches Blaine's palm with his fingertips. He drags his fingers across his palm and over his fingers until they slide off his fingertips. Kurt looks at Blaine's eyes and smiles. "Did you feel that?"

"Yeah." Blaine breathes.

"I have to concentrate when I touch things, it seems. Like the book, your pen and your hand."

"So you dropped the book in the library when I was there?"

"Yes. I slept in this chair the night before and when you were gone when I woke up I thought you might be mad at me for creeping in your room. I found you in there to apologize but you were studying, so I decided to read while I waited for you to finish."

"That was very thoughtful of you." Blaine cuts in before Kurt continues.

"I tried to grab the book and failed at first. Then I concentrated and grabbed it, but when I looked back at you I dropped it because I stopped focusing."

Blaine nods. "What was that song?" he thinks to ask suddenly.

"I- I don't remember…" Kurt says.

_**Kurt is standing in front of a room of strangers, singing his heart out. Tears stream down his face as he remembers holding hands with his father during his mother's funeral.**_

"I think-" Kurt begins and Blaine can see a shudder go through his body. "It makes me think of my father. He held my hand at my mother's funeral."

"How old were you?" Blaine asks cautiously.

"Eight."

"You remember?" Blaine asks, a small smile gracing his lips. "You remember your parents now?"

"I guess I do." Kurt says and smiles back a bit.

"So, should we go find your dad?"

"Yeah…" Kurt says and they both rise, walking out the door toward Blaine's car.

* * *

><p>While Blaine drives his car toward Lima he keeps looking over to the passenger seat to make sure Kurt is still there, that he is real and that this is really happening.<p>

"Blaine?" Kurt says and looks at him.

"Yeah?" Blaine breathes, unwillingly tearing his eyes away from Kurt's and back to the road.

"Put your seatbelt on, please."

Blaine glances over quickly again, chuckling lightly. "Sure. You too, though." Blaine slows the car down on the empty road and uses his left hand to put his seatbelt on while still maneuvering the car with his right.

"I'm dead, Blaine." Kurt says and lets out a huff of laughter. "I think I'll be fine."

_Blaine looks sad suddenly, his smile gone and his thick eyebrows drawing together. "I'm sorry." Kurt says, not really understanding what about his own words made Blaine look that sad, but wanting to correct his mistake and make Blaine smile his gorgeous smile again. Blaine doesn't, he just looks at the road. They are silent for a long while._

"_What do you want to do when we get there?" Blaine asks, taking a left._

"_What do you mean?" _

"_Should I talk to your family and try to…" Blaine furrows his eyebrows further. "Explain this? Or do you just want to go in alone and see them?"_

"_I don't- I don't think they'll see me. Dad… I don't know. When my mother died he used to say that he could still feel her sometimes. But I don't know if he believes in ghosts." Blaine just nods so Kurt continues. "If you could try to explain to him, that would be very nice of you. But you really don't have to." _

_Blaine looks away from the road again and back at Kurt, starting to smile again. Kurt's heart flutters for some reason. "Of course I will, if that's what you want." _

"_But you'll have to tell him something nobody but him and me knows, so he will believe that I am actually with you." _

"_Like what?" _

Kurt doesn't respond to Blaine's question, so he assumes that Kurt is trying to think of something. Blaine sees a small coffeshop, with the oh-so-creative name "The Lima Bean". He turns into the parking lot and turns off his car. Kurt doesn't react, clearly still trying to think of something that will convince his dad. Blaine takes out his phone and searches for "Hummel" in Lima. Two things come up in the search-engine; "Hummel's Tires and Lube" and "Burt Hummel", the latter one with an address. Blaine fills the address into his GPS and starts the car. When he is about two blocks away from the Hummel house Kurt lets out a satisfied "aha!" and smiles brightly at Blaine.

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued!<strong>

**Author's notes**: I hope you liked this chapter! I have gotten some response to this story, so I will continue it. But I would love it if you left some reviews to let me know if you think this story is evolving in a good way. Also feel free to leave ideas for the future chapters! Love you all! :D


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Glee, any of their characters or anything that can be related to something that exists in the real word.

**Warnings:** None, I think.

**Author's notes:** This chapter is a bit more dialogue that the previous ones, but I hope you don't mind. The next chapter will be up before Wednesday, perhaps even before the weekend is over. I hope you like this chapter! :)

_Italic text is Kurt's experiences._  
>Normal text is Blaine's experiences. <strong><br>_Italic Bold text is Kurt's memories._  
>Normal Bold text is Blaine's memories.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Nailed Shut<strong>

Chapter 3 

Blaine knocks lightly on the door, seeing as it is about eight in the evening on a Sunday. Kurt is standing on the top step next to him, smiling reassuringly at him. The door to the Hummel household opens inward to reveal a balding man dressed in a plaid shirt and overalls. Blaine hears Kurt's tiny gasp beside him but smiles carefully at the man.

_His father is looking totally worn down. His eyes are puffy and red, dark circles beneath them indicating he haven't been sleeping well. Kurt can hear the TV playing from the living room._

"_Hello." Burt Hummel says to Blaine, eyeing him from the bottom of his black sneakers up to the mop of dark curls on his head. "Can I help you?"_

"_Good evening, sir. I am sorry to bother you this late on a Sunday, but I would like to talk to you." Burt says nothing, so Blaine continues. "My name is Blaine Anderson, I go to Dalton Academy over in Westerville. I have some things to tell you, but I have a feeling you won't believe me. Yesterday I wouldn't have believed me either, but now-" Blaine starts to ramble, slightly panicking._

"_Are you a friend of K-" Burt begins, but stops and looks at his feet briefly before looking back at Blaine. "Are you a friend of my son's?" _

_Kurt's heart aches and he lets out a broken sob. Blaine looks in his direction briefly but turns his head back to Burt. "Well-" he begins but Burt steps aside and holds his arm out, indicating that Blaine should come inside. Blaine steps into the house and follows Burt to the living room, Kurt right behind him. _

_Burt sits down in an armchair, turning the TV off. Blaine sits down on one side of the couch, unconsciously leaving room for Kurt beside him. Kurt takes the space and looks around the room. It looks exactly like Kurt had remembered it. Not that he had actually remembered it until this very moment. _

"_So, Blaine. You knew my son?" Burt asks and clasps his hands together in his lap. Kurt winces at his father's use of the past tense. _

"Unfortunately I didn't, sir." Blaine answers and Burt narrows his eyes at him. "This is probably going to sound completely insane to you, but I beg you to please let me explain."

"Go on."

"About a week ago I started noticing odd things happening. Yesterday I had a really powerful experience and I went to see my grandmother this morning. She has been able to see and talk to my grandfather for twenty-five years, since he died. She told me that ghosts are real and that I, like her, have the gift to see them. I have never thought about ghosts or spirits at all until yesterday." Blaine explains, Burt still just looking skeptically at him. "And when I came back to Dalton I heard singing coming from my room, it was a Beatles song, if I'm correct." Blaine looks over at Kurt and Kurt nods and whispers "I Want to hold your Hand.". Blaine looks at Burt who has stiffened slightly in his seat. Blaine repeats the song title and Burt's lips form a tight line. "I found a boy in my room, singing and crying."

Burt takes a deep breath and Blaine is afraid to continue. "Who was it?" Burt asks, taking another deep breath.

"He told me his name is Kurt Hummel."

Burt's face falls and he rubs at one of his eyes with his fist. He says nothing.

"I talked to Kurt and he told me what happened to him. We are both confused as to why he came to Dalton, so I offered to take him to see you."

"Why should I believe you?" Burt asks roughly and looks a bit angry now.

"Like I said, yesterday I wouldn't have either. I have no reason to lie to you, sir. But Kurt told me something on the way here that he thinks will convince you that I'm telling the truth."

"Is he- he's here?" Burt asks brokenly, sounding completely wrecked.

"He is, right here next to me. And he wants me to tell you this thing he remembers." Burt's eyes flicker briefly to the empty space beside Blaine and then he looks him deep in the eyes. Burt nods so Blaine continues. "He remembers the day his mother died. You were waiting for the people to come get her body and he told you that she would always be with you. That his mommy wasn't left in that shell that you found on the bed, she was sitting on a cloud swinging her legs and looking down over you."

Burt leans forward, head in his hands, starting to sob loudly. "We never told anyone about that." he says between his erratic breaths. Kurt moves to sit on the floor in front of him.

"Kurt?" Blaine asks before he can stop himself.

Burt looks up at him, tears sliding down his cheeks. Blaine has never seen a grown man cry, ever. His own father probably has no emotions, Blaine thinks. Kurt's voice snaps him out of his brief thoughts. "Tell him I will touch his cheek."

"Um… Sir? Kurt says he will touch your cheek now."

Burt stiffens, looking out into the empty space in front of him. Blaine watches as Kurt reaches out his hands toward Burt's face. He seems to hesitate for a moment, but then he rubs the pads of his thumbs below Burt's eyes. Burt closes his eyes and sighs into the room. Kurt is smiling. Burt opens his eyes again and jerks back suddenly. Kurt moves back a bit on the floor.

"Did- did you just see that?" Burt says and stares openmouthed at Blaine.

"See what, sir?"

"I thought I saw a flash of blue!"

"I did a couple of times too before I could see him fully."

"You mean you can actually see him, like right now? Not just hear and feel him?" Burt looks back in Kurt's direction, before returning his eyes to Blaine once again.

"Yes. He's sitting on the floor in front of you. Did you feel it when he touched you?"

"Yes…" Burt breathes hesitantly.

"That's good. That means you could perhaps be able to see him with some time and help from my grand-"

"I don't believe this." Burt says suddenly and starts to shake his head. "I don't believe you."

"I'm very sorry, sir. What do you want me to say?"

"Okay-" Burt begins, sitting up straighter in the armchair. "Tell me what he is wearing. Only me, him, the police and that guy they caught know that."

"Okay…" Blaine says and looks at Kurt who nods. "He is wearing a sky-blue shirt, dark slim jeans, white Converse and a silver brooch in the shape of a dove."

Burt lets out a broken sob. "I- You- You should go. I need to process this." Burt says and stands up, gesturing to Blaine to walk into the hallway. Blaine does so and looks back at the man and his son's spirit on the floor.

"Thank you for letting me in, sir. Kurt, are you coming?" Kurt rises and Blaine follows him with his eyes. He passes Blaine and walks through the front door, closing it behind him while Blaine is still standing in the doorway between the living room and the hallway. Blaine looks back at Burt who is gaping at him.

"Did- did he just walk out?" Burt sits down heavily in the chair again with a loud thud.

"Yes, he did. I think he might be upset that he can't reach you himself." Blaine looks at the floor.

"Could- could your grandmother really help me?" Burt asks quietly.

"I'm sure she would love to try and help you. But I don't want to promise you anything. She told me not everybody has the gift. But I can leave you my phone number and we can go see her whenever you want." Blaine smiles when he looks back up at Kurt's father.

"That's very nice of you. Thank you. There's a notepad and pen in the kitchen." he says, but doesn't make an attempt to get out of the armchair.

Blaine walks through the hallway and into the kitchen. He finds the notepad and writes his number down before returning to the front door. "Anytime, sir. I'm sorry for your loss." he says before exiting the house.

_Kurt watches as Blaine exits his father's house. He stops on the porch and takes a deep breath before coming to sit in the car. When he closes the door he turns to Kurt, who is crying. _

"_Hey. Don't cry." Blaine whispers and reaches his hand out, but retracts it again. _

"_He thinks you're lying." Kurt mumbles and wipes at his tears._

"_No, he is just shocked. I was at first too. But I can see you, so I can't deny this. His whole world is being turned upside-down in a week." Blaine says and smiles weakly. They are silent for a while as Kurt attempts to stop crying, and he manages to do so as Blaine utters another sentence. "I left him my phonenumber so he can call me if he wants my grandmother's help." _

"_So he wants to see me, talk to me?" Kurt mumbles._

"_I am sure he will. But it might take a while. He just lost his son."_

_Kurt nods. Because he understands completely. When his mother died it had taken his father a long time to even be able to go back to work. And they had known for months that she was going to die. This, Kurt's death, was sudden. Kurt tries to imagine how Burt feels, his son being killed because of who he was. Because of hate. Kurt can't even begin to imagine it, though. _

"Hey." Blaine waves his hand in front of Kurt's face. Kurt has been staring out the windshield for quite a while. "Kurt, you still with me?" Kurt turns his head slowly to look at Blaine. "You ready to go back to Dalton?" He nods, so Blaine starts the car and drives away from Burt's house. Blaine can see Kurt out of the corner of his eye, turning his whole body to look back at it as they drive off.

* * *

><p>The first half of the car-ride is silent, with Kurt trying to think things through and Blaine giving him space to do so. The other half however, is filled with conversation. And it all starts with a simple request from Kurt.<p>

"Tell me about your family."

"Why?" Blaine looks with surprise at Kurt.

"Why not?" Kurt giggles, and Blaine thinks that it's the cutest thing he has ever heard. "I'm curious, we have been silent for too long and I need a distraction from my own situation. Also…" Kurt blushes and looks at his knees. "I like listening to your voice."

"Oh, well then. I'll tell you anything you want to know." Blaine smiles and gives Kurt a go-on-ask-look.

"Tell me everything." Kurt smiles back.

"That is going to take some time." Blaine chuckles, looking back at the road.

"Well, as it seems, I have eternity now. Quite convenient, don't you think?"

Blaine is silent for a moment as Kurt watches Blaine's face fall, from happy to sad. Blaine wonders why his heart aches so badly when Kurt says things like that. "Okay, so… Well… I have parents-" Blaine begins.

"I saw the picture behind your tree." Kurt says, smiling slightly.

"Ah, yes. My father Wyland is a successful businessman. He never smiles, ever, as you could probably guess from the picture. My mother Monica is a lawyer. She smiles sometimes, when she forgets that she shouldn't."

"Why shouldn't she?" Kurt asks cautiously.

"Because I ruined our family. My father loathes me. Not that he was particularly fond of me before, either."

"Before what?"

"Before I came out as being gay."

"You're gay too?" Kurt looks genuinely surprised, so Blaine has to laugh.

"Yes, yes I am." Blaine smiles momentarily, but remembers what he was talking about. "Apparently being gay is not okay with my father. He didn't kick me out or anything, but he sent me here. To Dalton, away from their home."

"Oh!" Kurt exclaims and turns his whole body toward Blaine. "That little girl from the picture by your bed, she's your little sister, isn't she?"

"She is." Blaine smiles softly now, his shoulders relaxing again after talking about his father.

"How old is she? What's her name?" Kurt squeaks.

Blaine chuckles. "I take it you like kids?" When Kurt only nods enthusiastically Blaine continues. "She is four years old. Her name is Aimee." Kurt just continues to look at Blaine, smiling so much that his eyes crinkle at the corners. Blaine chuckles again. "You want me to tell you more about her?" Another nod from Kurt. "Alright. When she was born my parents were absolutely positive se was going to be a boy. So when she came out my father apparently said "It has a butt on both sides!" because he was so shocked that she was in fact a she." Kurt laughs at Blaine's story and urges him to continue. "Even though I'm twelve years older than her, we are really close. I was the only one who could make her fall asleep when she was a baby and I taught her how to walk and talk. I try to call her at least once a week, sometimes more, just to ask what her day was like. She usually falls asleep before we end the call though, because she always asks me to sing for her. Which I do, and she falls asleep almost instantly. I hear her snoring softly and it's the most adorable thing ever."

_The smile and the look on Blaine's face when he talks about Aimee is enough to make Kurt's eyes fill with tears. Blaine continues to tell Kurt about his sister and Kurt talks some about his stepbrother Finn as well. _

* * *

><p><em>When they arrive at Dalton it's been dark for long and Kurt is amazed by the gorgeous lighting of the school grounds, that he hasn't taken his time to notice before. They walk through the halls not speaking. When they start walking down the corridor with the dorm rooms, Kurt suddenly stops. Blaine turns around to look at him. "What's wrong?"<em>

"_I should go sleep in the library." Kurt says, taking a step backwards. _

"_Why?" Blaine takes a step forward. _

"_Well, I've already stayed in your room without prior permission once." _

"_It's fine Kurt. You can sleep in my room, if you want. I won't make you, though." _

_Kurt thinks that it would be wonderful to get to fall asleep while watching Blaine breathe. So he starts walking again. Blaine grins and says "I'll take that as a yes. You'll stay in my room?". Kurt nods and blushes all the way to the collar of his bloody shirt. When they enter Blaine's room Kurt sits down in the armchair at once._

Blaine removes his shoes and sits on the edge of the bed. He meets Kurt's eyes and they look gray in the dim light. Kurt blinks fast a couple of times and then rises from the armchair. Blaine just looks at him, waiting to see what he's doing. Kurt sits down beside Blaine on the bed, leaving just an inch or so between their thighs. The bed doesn't dip at all where Kurt is sitting, the way it does where Blaine is.

"Blaine, I need to tell you something." When Blaine nods, Kurt continues. "Right now, you are the only person I have in the world."

Blaine is silent for a minute, letting Kurt's statement sink in. "And I'll do my best to help you, for as long as you want me to." Blaine responds, smiling into Kurt's gorgeous eyes.

"Thank you." Kurt breathes and flops back onto the bed, legs still dangling over the edge.

Blaine follows with a small thud. Once again there is no dip in the mattress where Kurt is, and Blaine can't help himself as he looks at where Kurt's head is resting on, and slightly into, his comforter. Their hands are just a fraction of space apart and Blaine's index finger twitches once. Kurt suddenly moves, resting his head in his hand, facing Blaine. "Is it okay if I try something?" Kurt whispers, leaning even closer to Blaine. Blaine nods dumbly, not caring what Kurt wants to do. Those eyes and that voice is all he can concentrate on right now, and also the rapid beating of his own heart against his ribcage. Kurt reaches out his left hand toward Blaine's face and Blaine sucks in a quick breath. Kurt grabs a stray dark curl, and tucks it behind Blaine's ear, smiling to himself when he's done. Blaine blows his breath out of his nose slowly. Kurt lies back down on his back, his hand close to Blaine's again. "That curl has been bothering me for like ten minutes." he chuckles, and Blaine does the same. Something tickles Blaine's hand, so he raises his head to look at it.

Kurt's hand is hovering above Blaine's, his fingertips brushing his knuckles gently. The touch is so soft that Blaine thinks he might be imagining it at first, but looking up at Kurt's face he sees him smiling. Blaine smiles too and puts his head down, focusing his eyes on the ceiling where Kurt is looking. He turns his hand over and Kurt's fingertips brush his palm and the insides of his fingers. The feathery touch moves between Blaine's fingers and just as he is about to look down and see their interlaced fingers his phone starts buzzing in his pocket. He takes it out and looks at the screen, but it is an unknown number. "This is Blaine."

"Um… Hello Blaine. It's Burt."

"Mr. Hummel!" Blaine exclaims, both due to his surprise and the fact that he wants Kurt to know who he is talking to. "Did you already decide about meeting my grandmother?" Kurt sits up beside Blaine.

"No. As in, I've not decided yet. I wanted to check that you got back to your school safely."

"I did, sir. Thank you."

"And also… I was thinking…"

Burt is silent for such a long time that Blaine assumes he isn't going to finish the sentence. "You were thinking about what, sir?"

"Well, since you know Kurt now, I thought that you might… On Tuesday… Um… Do you want to attend Kurt's funeral?"

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued.<strong>

**Author's notes: **I'm sorry about the tiny cliffhanger. Let me know what you think! Love you all! ^^


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Glee, any of their characters or anything that can be related to something that exists in the real word.

**Warnings:** None, I think.

**Author's notes:** Here comes the next chapter! Something odd is going to happen to Kurt in this one. I hope you like it! :)

_Italic text is Kurt's experiences._  
>Normal text is Blaine's experiences. <strong><br>_Italic Bold text is Kurt's memories._  
>Normal Bold text is Blaine's memories.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Nailed Shut<strong>

Chapter 4 

"Oh!" Blaine fidgets with the hem of his shirt. "I should ask Kurt." Blaine looks over to Kurt, who is sitting with his mouth open slightly. "I'll call you right back." Blaine hears Burt mumble an "okay" before he hangs up the phone. "Kurt?" Blaine asks cautiously.

_Kurt hadn't even thought about there being a funeral for him. Partly because he hadn't really thought about the consequences of him being dead at all, and partly because he still feels like he is alive. He can talk and sing, blush and cry, touch things and move them… The only thing that makes him feel like he isn't actually in his own body, alive, is that Blaine is the only one who can see him. Blaine's voice snaps Kurt out of his thoughts. "What?"_

"_Do you want to go?"_

"_I-" Kurt begins, swallowing hard. "I think I need to." Kurt thinks that he needs to actually see his own body for this to be real, to sink in. _

"_Do you want me to come with you?" _

"_Yes." Kurt admits but quickly realizes what it is he is actually asking of Blaine. "But you really don't have to! Funerals are not fun places…" _

"_It's okay Kurt. I will do it for you. Okay?" _

"_Thank you." Kurt whispers before lying back down on the bed, staring at the ceiling again._

"I'll call your father and tell him, then." Blaine says and sees Kurt nod. He goes to the latest calls in his phone and calls the number that he talked to last. It picks up on the fourth ring.

"Hello?" a woman's voice answers. "Hummel's."

"Hello Mrs. Hummel. This is Blaine Anderson. Could I talk to your husband, please?"

"Oh…" The woman sounds confused. "Sure. Just a sec."

Blaine looks at Kurt who has raised his head to look at him when he heard him talk to the woman who Blaine assumes is Kurt's stepmother.

"This is Burt."

"Hello again, sir." Blaine says and sees Kurt roll his eyes. He figures that it's because he says "sir" in every other sentence while talking to Kurt's father.

"Blaine. Did you decide?"

"I did. I would be honored to attend."

"And K- him?"

"He'll be there."

"Okay, then. Well, it's at three. You can come to our house and ride with us to the place."

"We'll be there. Thank you sir."

"Uh… Yeah. Take care. Bye."

"_When is it?" Kurt asks after a sigh escapes his lips. He doesn't look at Blaine._

"_Tuesday. Your dad said we should be at his house at three." _

_Two days. My body will be buried in two days. Kurt sighs again. _

"_Are you okay?" _

"_I'm fine." Kurt says. An automatic response, he realizes. He's tired of that. "No, actually. I'm not fine…"_

"_Do you want to talk about it?" Blaine is looking at him with… genuine concern? There isn't any sign of the pity that Kurt had expected to see when he looked back at Blaine. _

"_It's just so… unreal." Kurt whispers._

Blaine lies down on the bed next to Kurt again. He reaches his hand out to brush his fingers over Kurt's, but they go through them. His fingers are suddenly cold, and a shiver runs through his spine. He lifts his hand away from Kurt's and the coldness disappears. He looks up to see Kurt watching what he had just been doing. He looks back to their hands and sees that Kurt is mirroring what he just did. When Kurt's fingertips brush lightly over his skin, it feels warm. The flesh of his whole hand tingles with something he can't place. It's a very pleasant feeling, he decides. "That feels warm." Blaine breathes into the space between them, before he realizes how silly that sentence is.

"You're warm." Kurt breathes back, and Blaine feels less silly.

"When I did that just now, and my fingers just went through yours, I felt really cold. But now that you're doing that, it feels warm."

Kurt hums, dragging his fingertips from Blaine's, up to where his hand meets his wrist. "I guess I'm not… solid, until I concentrate. When I am, I am warm, like when I was alive. But when I'm not, I guess it's like what people talk about, walking through cold spots and thinking they are ghosts."

"Can we try something?" Blaine asks, looking at Kurt's face. He feels hesitant, but when Kurt lifts his blue eyes to look into Blaine's hazel ones, he feels more confident. Kurt nods so Blaine lifts his hand toward Kurt's face. "Concentrate on your face, being solid." The muscles in Kurt's forehead moves slightly, and a single tiny line appears between his eyebrows. Blaine slowly touches his fingers to Kurt's temple.

_The moment Blaine touches Kurt's face a tingly feeling of warmth spreads across his skin. Kurt closes his eyes as Blaine moves his fingertips down the side of his face, across his jaw and to his chin, where they disappear. Kurt opens his eyes and stutters. "Wo-wow." Blaine is smiling at him, and he can do nothing more than smile back. Kurt is exhausted. _

"_It's been a long day. We should sleep." Blaine states, and Kurt nods in response. _

_Kurt never imagined that concentrating would ever be this hard, this tiring. He gets off the bed and sits down heavily in the armchair. He watches through heavy eyelids how Blaine searches through his clothes to find some pajamas and walks into the bathroom, to reenter the bedroom a few minutes later with his pajamas and glasses on. Blaine gets under the covers and turns to face Kurt. He smiles at him and Kurt feels two things at once; a happy giddiness in his stomach and a throbbing ache in his chest. He decides that he always wants to see Blaine smile. Blaine's expression changes as his stomach growls loudly, making him blush to the tips of his ears. Kurt realizes something with a small hint of horror. "You haven't eaten anything."_

_Blaine looks at the floor. "I guess I forgot…"_

"_I'm so sorry." Kurt whispers._

"_That's not your fault, Kurt. I'll just have a big breakfast." Blaine smiles again, and the feeling of horror that Kurt had vanishes. "Good night, Kurt." _

"_Goodnight."_

* * *

><p><em>When Kurt opens his eyes they fall on Blaine's pillow, where a head of curls should be. What is on the pillow however, is a piece of striped paper. Kurt stands, walks over to the bed and bends down to read the note.<em>

"_I'm in Warblers practice. I have the afternoon off, so I'll be back after lunch."_

_Kurt checks the time on Blaine's alarm clock. Eleven thirty. Kurt is amazed that he slept that long, seeing as he hadn't done that since… well, maybe ever. He is also glad that Blaine will probably be back in just a short while. So he busies himself with looking through the bookshelf beside the door, that he hadn't really thought about before. There are a bunch of books that Kurt assumes are for school, taking up two entire shelves. On the next shelf are some dictionaries and books about different countries. On the shelf above it are a few books about architecture, which makes Kurt wonder if maybe Blaine wants to become an architect. The rest of the books on that shelf seem to be poetry, some with colorful pieces of paper sticking up from between the pages. The next shelf is filled with books that probably every teen right now knows about, like the "Harry Potter", "The Lord of the Rings" and "Twilight Saga"-series. The top shelf is full of children's books. Kurt finds pretty much every story he knew about as a kid among the titles, along with some thicker books that seem to be collections of different stories. He smiles when his eyes land on a pink book called "Princess-stories for Princesses". Blaine probably gets teased by his friends about that one._

* * *

><p>"You seemed distant in practice today." Wes says during lunch.<p>

Blaine practically inhales his lunch and doesn't respond. David is looking at him with concern. "Is something bothering you, Blaine?"

Blaine puts his spoon down in his empty soup-bowl and sighs. "I'm going to be absent from school tomorrow."

"What? Why?" Wes asks, dropping his spoon into his soup. Droplets of soup land on the table and the front of his blazer.

"I'm going to a funeral." Blaine states simply and looks up to see two mouths gaping at him.

"Who died?" Wes asks and Blaine winces.

How would he ever explain the situation to his friends? They would think he was insane. "I don't want to talk about it." Blaine stands and rushes out of the dining hall, leaving his dishes behind for someone else to take care of.

* * *

><p>Blaine enters his room a few minutes before noon and finds Kurt lying on the floor with a book of poetry open in front of him. "What are you reading?" he asks, though he knows the illustration and the poem beside it well. Shakespeare.<p>

Kurt jerks his head up to look at Blaine, as if he had startled him. "Sonnet VIII." he says, kind of breathlessly.

"Ah…" Blaine says and sits cross-legged on the floor in front of Kurt and the book. "Sweets with sweets war not, joy delights in joy." Blaine quotes and Kurt looks impressed. "One of my favorites."

"Is that what these are for?" Kurt asks and points to the colorful paper-pieces. Blaine nods. Kurt closes the book and puts it back in the bookshelf. "How did Warblers practice go?"

"It was fine."

Kurt sits down on the bed and Blaine follows. They are silent for a while, leaning against the headboard next to each other. Suddenly Blaine chuckles. "Aren't you going to ask me about the princess-book?" Kurt giggles and his cheeks turn pink. Blaine chuckles again. "You remember I told you that I sing Aimee to sleep over the phone?" Kurt nods so Blaine continues. "When I don't sing for her, I read stories before she goes to sleep instead. Like when I'm sick or can't sing for whatever reason."

"That's adorable." Kurt smiles but freezes suddenly.

"Kurt? What's wrong?" Blaine asks, but he can see what's wrong the moment he looks at Kurt.

_The buttons of Kurt's sky-blue shirt are becoming unbuttoned by themselves. Neither Kurt nor Blaine are moving, both frozen in shock. When the third button is loose and the top of Kurt's chest is visible, Blaine moves back and stands, staring at the horrified look on Kurt face. Kurt is panicking. "Blaine!" he chokes out and looks at Blaine with tears in his eyes. The buttons continue to come undone and when the last one is open – exposing Kurt's chest and stomach – the shirt glides down over Kurt's shoulders and arms. When it passes his hands it just vanishes. _

"_What's happening? Are you okay?" Blaine asks with one hand in front of his mouth and the other wrapping around his middle. _

"_I don't know!" Kurt cries, looking down at the bruises smattered across his chest. The button of his jeans comes undone and the zipper opens slowly. "Oh my God! Don't look at me!" Blaine turns and starts walking toward the door, which causes Kurt to panic even more. "NO! Please don't leave me!" Blaine turns back and stares as Kurt's pants start gliding down his hips. Kurt moves down from the headboard, lying flat against the mattress. He sees Blaine turn away from him, but not moving from where he stands a small distance from the foot of the bed. Kurt looks back at the pants sliding down his legs. He doesn't understand what's happening. He can't think. _

_When the pants slide off Kurt's shoes they too disappear, just like his shirt did. Kurt can hear Blaine crying but he can't look away from his legs. They too, are full of bruises. His shoes unlace themselves and disappear, his socks following right after. Kurt's boxers start sliding down his hips and he gasps. _

"_Are you okay?" Blaine asks again and sniffles._

"_No. Please don't go, just don't look." Kurt answers, still not looking at Blaine._

_Kurt is naked. He can't think of anything besides "please don't look" as he looks up at Blaine who is shaking with silent sobs. Suddenly there is cold and wetness spreading up his feet and legs. Kurt snaps his eyes back to himself and sees what looks like water droplets coating his legs. The water continues up his body and Kurt lifts his chin as it nears his mouth. That doesn't stop the water, it just fills his mouth and Kurt splutters. If he wasn't already dead he would think he was drowning. _

"_What's happening?" Blaine asks with panic in his voice. "Kurt?"_

_The water has now reached his eyes. He blinks rapidly while trying to see the ceiling above him. "Water!" he chokes out._

"_What?" Blaine asks, sounding even more terrified now. _

"_Just don't look!" Kurt feels the water flow through his hair and into the wound on the back of his head. It feels kind of nice, Kurt thinks before he passes out._

* * *

><p>Kurt hasn't said anything in a while, but he told Blaine not to look. So Blaine doesn't. He holds his breath for as long as he can, trying to hear anything coming from Kurt. He forces his heartbeat to slow down so it'll stop pounding in his ears. After what feels like eternity he hears Kurt take in a sudden, deep breath. "Kurt?"<p>

"Oh my God!" Kurt exclaims.

"Are you okay?"

"Look!" Kurt gasps.

Blaine doesn't think he has ever been this relieved in his whole life. He turns slowly and gasps when he sees Kurt. His hair is perfectly styled, except for a bandage on the back of his head. He has a pair of yellow boots on, as well as a pair of white jeans and a yellow knitted cardigan.

"This is my favorite sweater." Kurt says breathlessly.

Blaine practically throws himself on the bed next to Kurt, but he doesn't touch him. Kurt meets Blaine's eyes and Blaine lets out a breath he didn't even know he was holding. Kurt smiles at him and Blaine can do nothing but smile back. "It's a fabulous sweater." Blaine breathes and Kurt blushes.

They are silent for a while, just trying to calm down and make sense of what just happened.

"What just happened?" Kurt asks after a few minutes.

"I think I know." Blaine says and picks his phone out of his pocket. He calls the number he saved this morning and it doesn't take many rings for there to be an answer. Kurt just looks at him.

"Hummel's." comes Burt's voice.

"Hello Mr. Hummel. This is Blaine again."

"Oh. Hello Blaine. What can I do for you?"

"Well…" Blaine hesitates, but he needs to be sure of his suspicion before he tells Kurt. "I know this is a really sensitive thing to ask, but something really strange just happened to Kurt. Do you know if anything was scheduled today?" Blaine almost giggles at the adorable clueless expression on Kurt's face. Almost.

"Today they are preparing his body for the funeral. I picked out and left some of his clothes at the place this morning... Is he still there?"

"Yes. We just needed to know what just happened. Kurt said that yellow sweater is his favorite. Thank you, sir."

"Yeah… Um… Tell him I said hi, okay? I need to go by the shop. Bye." Burt hangs up. Blaine just sits with the phone still to his ear for a moment, in surprise.

"What?" Kurt whines.

"They just prepared your body for the funeral." Blaine says and tries to look as comforting as possible, after putting his phone back in his pocket.

Kurt moves up the bed to lean against the headboard again. Blaine does the same and then smiles gently at Kurt. "Your dad picked out your outfit." Kurt looks away from him, his eyebrows drawing together slightly. He says nothing, starting to rubs his hands together. Blaine continues to smile softly at him, just in case he looks back at Blaine's face. "He must know you really well, to pick that out for you."

"He does. But I'm not surprised he remembers that I love it."

"How come?"

"Well, to begin with I worked extra in his tire shop for two months to save up for it. Also, when I finally bought it I danced around the house while hugging it to my chest for about four hours." Kurt looks up at Blaine, smiling faintly. "Also, I was singing at the top of my lungs and I fell over, nose-dive into the living room carpet." He looks back at his hands, rubbing his left thumb across his right palm.

Blaine thinks that Kurt's story is cute, and he chuckles lightly. He too looks at Kurt's hands. They must be solid now, Blaine thinks and reaches his hand out to rub the back of Kurt's right one. Kurt stills his hands and looks back at Blaine with slight surprise. Then he grins. "You think me fracturing my jaw is funny?"

Blaine tries to hold it back, but the laughter escapes his lips as he twines his fingers with Kurt's. "Fractured jaw? From the living room carpet?" he giggles. "While dancing around hugging a cardigan? You're adorable."

"_Thank you. So to conclude, I'm not at all surprised my father remembers that it's my favorite cardigan. I insisted on taking it with me to the emergency room." _

_Blaine laughs even more at that, clasping Kurt's fingers. Wait… My fingers! Kurt looks at his hands, where Blaine still has a firm grip on his right one. "My hands…" Kurt says. _

_Blaine stops laughing, looking curiously at Kurt. "What about them?" A last giggles finds its way out of his mouth. _

"_I was- and then not- and they're still…" Kurt trails off. He looks at Blaine, and he is pretty sure that he can see his thought-process. _

"_That's… Good. Maybe you don't have to concentrate completely all the time?" Blaine suggests._

"_Yeah, maybe…" Kurt smiles. "I think you touching my hand might have unconsciously kept my mind there…" He blushes slightly. Blaine just smiles back. Something hits Kurt suddenly. "You should call Aimee." he says as Blaine's hand is now grasping the air. _

_Blaine pulls his hand back. "Yeah, I should. Last time was a few days ago." He takes the phone out of his pocket again and Kurt sees him press a contact called "Aimee". Not "Wyland Anderson" or "Monica Anderson". Not "home". "I can put it on speaker so you can hear us?" Blaine asks and presses the button before Kurt has a chance to respond. _

"_No, you don't have to. It's your little sis-"_

"_Anderson residence. How can I help you?" a man with a British accent answers the phone._

"_Hello Charles. It's Blaine." _

_Why am I not surprised his name is Charles?, Kurt thinks._

"_Sir Blaine! It's nice to hear from you. How is school?"_

_Kurt puts his hand in front of his mouth to stop a giggle. SIR Blaine?_

"_Oh, it's fine. I was thinking I'd talk to Aimee for a while."_

"_Of course, sir. Just a moment." _

_There is some crackling on the other end and after a minute a little girl comes on. "Blaine?" she asks, excitement obvious in her voice._

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued.<strong>

**Author's notes:** I hope the Kurt-thing wasn't too weird. Let me know what you think! ^^  
>In the next chapter you'll get the Aimee-phone call and also Kurt's funeral, where there is a huge surprise waiting!<br>Love you all!


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Glee, any of their characters or anything that can be related to something that exists in the real word.

**Warnings:** Angst, I guess.

**Author's notes:** This chapter took a while, for three reasons: 1) It's a bit longer than usual. 2) I was with my best friend in the emergency room. 3) Much of this comes from personal experience, which made it hard to write; digging into old memories and feelings, and trying to put them into words.  
>That said, here comes the chapter. I hope you all like it! ^^<p>

_Italic text is Kurt's experiences._  
>Normal text is Blaine's experiences. <strong><br>_Italic Bold text is Kurt's memories._  
>Normal Bold text is Blaine's memories.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Nailed Shut<strong>

Chapter 5 

"_Hi Aimee!" Blaine squeaks, his voice the highest Kurt has yet to hear it. "How was your day, sweetheart?" Sweetheart? That is adorable! _

"_Nanny Annie gave me crayons today. So I drawed something for you!" Kurt smiles, he just loves kids._

"_That's so nice of you! What did you draw?"_

"_It's a secret! You'll get it when you come home. When will you come visit me?" Aimee sounds a bit sad and Kurt watches Blaine frown and bite his lip._

"_You know what? I'm gonna take you out for your birthday. Would you like that?"_

"_Yes!" Aimee squeals. "But it's soooooo long 'til my birthday!"_

_Blaine chuckles. "It's just two weeks, baby! And we'll go anywhere you want!"_

"_Oh! Oh! Can we go to that pancake place?" _

"_Pancake Palace?" _

"_Yeah! I love when you take me there." Wow, that's pretty far from here…_

"_Then we'll go there and have pancakes. What do you want for your birthday present?"_

"_My friend Sarah got a puppy and I want a puppy too!"_

"_Aimee, I can't give you a puppy. Mommy and daddy wouldn't like that very much."_

"_I know…" Aimee says in an adorable defeated little-girl-voice. "I don't know what I want…" Blaine waits a moment, probably thinking Aimee will come up with something. "I just want you to come home."_

_Blaine rubs his forehead with his hand and seems to be thinking for a moment. Kurt feels like he is intruding on something private, but he doesn't move. Doesn't breathe. Blaine's eyes flicker to the picture of him and his sister on the wall before he says anything else. "Can I talk to Charles for a minute, Aimee?"_

"_I'm sorry! Are you mad at me?"_

"_Of course not, honey! I just want to ask him something real quick, okay?" _

_Aimee mumbles an "okay" and then they hear her get out of her bedroom to hand the phone to the butler. That's what he is right?, Kurt thinks. "Sir Blaine?"_

"_Hi again Charles. I was just wondering if Mr. and Mrs. Anderson are working late on Thursday?" He doesn't even call them "mom" and "dad" except when talking to Aimee?_

"_Oh, yes. Sir Wyland will be in a late meeting. Lady Monica is attending a dinner. Should I be expecting you here?" There is a small gasp of hope from Aimee in the background._

"_Yes. I'll be over at about five. You don't have to set up dinner. It's Aimee's bedtime soon, right?" _

"_Yes, sir. The usual procedure?"_

"_Yes. Thank you Charles."_

_They hear Aimee in the background saying "gimme gimme" before she comes back. "Are you coming home, Blainey?" _

"_Yes, baby. On Thursday. You can make a list of things you want for your birthday and give it to me then. Is that okay with you?" _

"_Yes!" she says as they hear the thuds of her feet when she runs to her room again. "I miss you."_

"_I miss you too, honey. But I'll come visit in three days. Three days!" Blaine exaggerates the last part and Kurt giggles. Aimee doesn't say anything, but they hear her door closing. "You ready for bed, Aimee?"_

"_Yes. I got my pajamas on."_

"_Did you brush your teeth?"_

"_No… Wait!" The phone drops onto the covers of Aimee's bed. _

_Blaine smiles at Kurt. "She forgets sometimes."_

"_She seems to miss you a lot."_

"_Yeah... I try to go visit when our parents aren't home, sometimes."_

"_She's cute." Kurt smiles back, but it doesn't reach his eyes. Blaine's parents disapprove of him so much that he only goes home when they're not there? _

"_Do you want to come with me?"_

"_What? No. You should spend some time alone with her. I can spend Thursday evening in the library, reading or something."_

"_Okay, sure. What about her birthday then?"_

"_Blaine. We met a couple of days ago. You don't have to take me everywhere. I was alone for a week before you even saw me."_

"_I know. I just…" Blaine frowns again. "That week, you didn't choose to be alone."_

"_And you figured that since you're the only one who can see me, you need to hang out with me so I won't feel alone anymore, right?"_

"_Something like that…" Blaine mumbles. "Please come! You said you love kids and I assure you she is the cutest you will ever see." A wide smile spreads across his face. _

"_Blainey?" Aimee's voice comes from the phone again. _

"_Yes? Did you brush your teeth?" _

"_Yes. Are you playing with your friends?" Kurt smiles so hard that he thinks his face might split in half. _

"_No… You have my undivided attention. Want me to sing for you 'til you fall asleep?" _

"_YES!" she almost shouts in response. They hear her climb into bed and under the covers. "Ready." she squeaks. _

"_Good. Goodnight, honey. I love you."_

"'_Night… I love you too, Blainey." _

_Blaine smiles softly at the phone and thinks for a moment before he starts to sing. Kurt is amazed at Blaine's voice. It's not as loud and clear as it had been when he was with the other singing boys, but rather soft and almost a whisper. Kurt just looks on in amazement as Blaine sings lullabies to Aimee through the phone while looking at the picture of them by the bed._

* * *

><p>It takes Blaine four songs before they hear her soft snoring on the other end. Blaine chuckles softly and looks up at Kurt who is smiling so much that Blaine can barely see his eyes. There is noise on the other end and after a few moments they hear a door shut and footsteps along a corridor. "Sir Blaine, Aimee is asleep."<p>

"Thank you, Charles. I'll see you on Thursday."

"Thursday, Sir Blaine. Goodbye."

Blaine hangs up the phone and puts it in his pocket. "Told you." he smirks at Kurt.

"That was adorable, yes. Are you playing with your friends, Blainey?" Kurt teases.

"Hey! She's the only one who gets to call me that!" Blaine says, faking offense. "So… What do you feel like doing tonight?"

"Well to start with you're going to eat dinner, before you forget. And after that I would like you to distract me from tomorrow by telling me all the cute stories you have about you and your sister."

"I can do that." Blaine grins and stands. "Come with me?"

"Yeah, sure. Why not?"

* * *

><p><em>Blaine gets some pasta and meatballs, and sits down with Kurt opposite to him at a table in a corner of the dining hall. Blaine doesn't say anything to him, and Kurt understands perfectly why. Since nobody else can see him, everybody would wonder who Blaine was talking to. Kurt however, decides to tell Blaine about his and his father's history with Kurt's stepmother Carole and stepbrother Finn. Since nobody can hear him anyway. Blaine listens intently while eating his dinner as fast as he can. He stops and smiles when Kurt tells the story of Burt and Carole's wedding. "That's so sweet." he whispers, but Kurt holds his index finger to his lips to signal for Blaine to be quiet. <em>

_Blaine sits with his back toward the entrance to the dining hall so he doesn't see David and Wes approach the table. Kurt does, and he points behind Blaine who turns around to look just as they arrive._

"_Hey! What are you sitting here staring at the wall for?" Wes asks and sits down beside him. _

Kurt and Blaine watch in slight panic how David moves around the table, and Kurt looks just as terrified as Blaine feels. David sits down in the chair where Kurt is sitting. What follows is the strangest thing Blaine has ever seen. He sees David, sitting there, as he is. But he also sees Kurt sitting there, seemingly inside David. David is leaner so Blaine can see Kurt's shoulders stick out of David's arms. David shivers, but starts digging into his dinner. "Gosh it's cold in here!"

"You look like you've seen a ghost!" Wes exclaims. "Don't tell me you have the Halloween spookies again? Is it because it's proper Halloween today?"

Blaine watches as Kurt stands. "I'll wait in your room. Be with your friends." he whispers, as if he thinks they might hear him if he doesn't.

"What are you looking at?" David says, his eyebrows knitting together.

Blaine follows Kurt with his eyes as Kurt walks away from the table and out of the dining hall, Blaine having to turn around in his chair to watch him go. David and Wes try to follow his line of sight and then look at each other when they can't find what Blaine is looking at. Blaine doesn't notice this, however. He just stares at the door where Kurt left the room.

"Hey!" Wes snaps his fingers in front of Blaine's face, causing the latter to whip around to look at him and David again. "What's up with you?"

"Nothing. I'm perfectly fine." Blaine says, looking into his remaining pasta.

Wes and David share a worried glance. David puts his hand on Blaine's for a moment, making him meet his gaze. "You know you can talk to us if something is really bothering you, right?"

"I know." Blaine tries to smile, but it probably looks really forced. "But I'm fine."

"Okay, then!" Wes says, chewing on a meatball. "Jeff is having a get-together in his and Nick's dorm room tomorrow night. We're gonna watch horror movies and eat all the leftover candy from Halloween."

"I hope you'll have fun." Blaine says as he rolls the lasts strands of spaghetti onto his fork.

"What? You're gonna be there, right?" Wes accuses while Blaine chews on his last bite of dinner.

He swallows. "I'm going to a funeral tomorrow, remember? I don't think I'm going to be in the mood." Blaine rises out of his chair and starts clearing his dishes by the wall.

"Hey Blaine!" David calls out, and Blaine turns to look at his friends. "Good luck tomorrow, or whatever they say… Um… I'll bring any homework over in the evening, all right?" Blaine nods and smiles a genuine smile at him before walking out of the dining hall.

* * *

><p>True to his word, Blaine tells Kurt a bunch of stories about things he and Aimee have done, or usually do together. Like going to the park and playground, carrying her on his shoulders when on a walk and pulling pranks on their butler Charles McAbbott III. They sit shoulder to shoulder on Blaine's bed, leaning against the headboard.<p>

_Kurt concentrates on that shoulder while listening to Blaine's stories, so it'll be solid and warm against Blaine's. But concentrating on both his shoulder and the stories is exhausting for Kurt. He passes out in the middle of a story and Blaine stops telling it when he hears Kurt's soft snoring. He smiles and gets off the bed to get ready for bed. When he comes out of the bathroom Kurt has moved so he is lying on his side on the usually empty side of Blaine's bed. Blaine giggles and folds his glasses on his nightstand, crawling under the covers on his side. He falls asleep in less than a minute, while listening to Kurt's breathing._

* * *

><p>Blaine doesn't really have to be absent in all of his classes today, but he decides to be anyway. For Kurt. He awakes as early as he usually does, while Kurt is still asleep. He skips his contacts and hair gel, dressing in the t-shirt and sweatpants that he got while being on the swimming-team last year. Blaine walks to the administration building and fills out some paperwork for "attending a close friend's funeral". The receptionist gives him a sad smile and an "I'm sorry for your loss." before he walks back to his room. Kurt is still asleep so he decides to go to the dining hall to eat breakfast and read. He brings one of his books of poetry and sits on a bench with his back to the wall. The book is open on his knees while he eats his cereal. Blaine is there early, so there are only three other boys in the room, and he isn't familiar with any of them.<p>

Kurt wakes up at eleven when Blaine accidentally drops his poetry book on the floor. He just finished reading it after already being awake for three hours, and was just about to put it back in the bookshelf.

"What were you reading?" Kurt asks, rubbing at his eyes with his fists.

"Poetry." Blaine answers, putting the book back on the shelf.

"Would you read me some?" Kurt sits up, leaning against the headboard. "I'm sorry about passing out on your bed."

"Don't worry about it." Blaine smiles as Kurt, before turning back to the bookshelf and picking out another poetry-book. He sits on the bed next to Kurt and begins to read some of his favorites.

* * *

><p>After about an hour they go to the dining hall again, so Blaine can eat lunch before they get ready to leave for Kurt's funeral. Luckily they don't run into any of Blaine's friends. Kurt doesn't say much during lunch, except for a small rant about how his family members are going to have to put together their own outfits for the occasion. "Burt and Finn will probably be wearing suits and Carole will probably go with a simple black dress." Blaine whispers, and that apparently calms Kurt down a bit.<p>

Kurt leaves to sit in the library while Blaine gets ready. He puts his contacts in and smoothes his curls down with some gel, but not a lot. He puts on the simple black suit he got for Christmas last year. Luckily he hasn't grown much, so it actually fits better now than it had done then. He checks himself in the mirror a couple of times, making sure everything looks perfect before heading into the hallway and toward the library. A few boys turn to look at him in the halls, but nobody says anything. He walks into the library to find Kurt in one of the armchairs, staring out into empty space. There are other people in the library so Blaine just walks up to the chair. Kurt notices him and stands. Blaine pretends to look for something behind the cushion of the chair since it would look odd if he just came in there to stand by a chair and then leave again.

"Do I look okay?" Kurt asks while they walk toward the car.

"Perfect." Blaine says and smiles softly at him.

The drive is silent. Kurt just sits and looks through his window, staring at the sky. Blaine glances over from time to time, making sure he is okay. Kurt doesn't even notice when Blaine stops to buy a flower to put on Kurt's grave.

* * *

><p>They arrive at the Hummel household about five minutes before three. They get out of the car and walk up the front steps. "Are you ready?" Blaine asks before ringing the doorbell. Kurt nods and takes a shaky breath. Burt opens the door and leads Blaine into the house, Kurt following right behind.<p>

"Did you tell your family about me and Kurt?" Blaine whispers to Burt as they walk toward the living room.

"Not yet. So I'll just introduce you as a friend of his, okay?"

Blaine nods and when they enter the living room Burt introduces Blaine to Carole and Finn. He had been right about their clothing-choices. Finn is freakishly tall, even though he is clearly slumped in sadness. "I'll drive us to the place." Burt tells them after a few minutes of "pleasantries".

Burt and Carole sit in the front and Blaine and Finn in the back, Kurt in the middle. Except only Blaine knows that. They drive for about twenty minutes before they reach a small building that could have been a church of some sort, though there is no cross.

The inside looks very much like a church would too, but there are no crosses and such inside either. The room is not that big. Simple wooden chairs are lined up in rows and there are huge windows in the back of the room. There is a thin cream-colored carpet dividing the two sides of chairs, leading up to the front where the casket is. It's white with details in silver. From where they are standing Blaine can see the inside of the open lid. It's lined with what looks like (also) cream-colored satin. On the right side of the coffin is a big picture of a smiling Kurt, next to a stand full of flowers in all different colors. On the left side of the coffin is a small podium with a microphone. Blaine sits next to Burt in the front row, since he doesn't know anybody else. A man dressed in a stylish suit walks up to the podium when all people have been seated.

The suited man does his speech, talking about Kurt and his fabulousness. It's sweet and touching, talking about celebrating life and such things. At entering, everybody got a white rose to leave on top of the casket after saying one's goodbyes. The man finishes, and announces that it is now okay to approach the coffin and say a few last words to Kurt before the actual burial.

Kurt's family members are the first ones to walk up to the casket. Blaine watches as Burt steps forward first, Carole and Finn staying behind him. He leans down and kisses Kurt's forehead, whispering something no one can hear. His hand trembles as he brushes Kurt's cheek, and then he falls to his knees. "My little boy!" he sobs, as tears start streaming down his face. He lets out a howl of sorrow, and THAT is the worst thing Blaine has ever heard in his life. The extreme sorrow and hopelessness that no one but parents who have had to bury their children could possibly understand. Blaine's chest aches, and he realizes that he is crying now, too. He looks to his side to find Kurt sobbing into his hands and Blaine thinks for a moment that this is too much to handle. He reaches his hand out and brushes his fingertips against the back of Kurt's hand. He hopes that it makes Kurt feel just a fraction better, as it makes himself feel absolutely confident that he did the right thing coming here. Burt starts sobbing, so Carole and Finn help him up. He leans on Finn as Carole kisses Kurt's cheek and whispers her goodbye. Carole then sits back down with Burt by her side, crying into the shoulder of her dress. Burt doesn't care about anyone seeing him in this state, he lost his baby boy. Carole's cheeks are also wet with tears as she rubs her husband's back and whispers loving words to him. Meanwhile Finn is standing alone by Kurt's coffin, looking down at him. "I should have protected you…" he says loud enough for Blaine to hear it, but he doubts that anybody else did. He is crying silently, and he bends down to put his forehead against Kurt's, releasing a shuddering breath. "You were the brother I always wanted."

_As his father falls to his knees Kurt squeezes his eyes shut, trapping the tears inside. He hears his father's soul-wrecking cry and Kurt falls to his knees next to Blaine's chair. He doesn't approach his father, he just buries his face in his hands, sobbing. He feels Blaine's fingertips on the back of his hand, and it calms him more than he would have thought possible. _

_He watches Finn stand by his body now. As Finn bends down to touch their foreheads together Kurt releases a broken sob, which almost makes him miss the sentence Finn says to his body. Almost. "YOU were the brother I always wanted." Kurt says and Blaine glances at him briefly._

* * *

><p>Blaine has never seen a dead person before. He approaches the coffin, and for some reason he is kind of surprised to see Kurt's body in the yellow cardigan. This isn't Kurt, he thinks for a moment. This is just an empty shell. Blaine had never really thought about ghosts or souls before he met Kurt. He can no longer deny that ghosts exist, since Kurt exists. When he looks down at Kurt's body, he can no longer deny that souls exists either. Because there is no one left in that body, Kurt isn't there. Kurt was gorgeous when he was alive, Blaine can tell. Even putting aside the stylish clothes and the perfectly sculpted hair, he was beautiful. His skin is like… porcelain, Blaine thinks. He wonders what those ocean eyes would have looked like alive, if they were different from Kurt's eyes. Blaine thinks it is silly to think this way, because for him, Kurt is pretty much alive. He can see him just as clearly as he can anybody else. He hesitates for a moment, but he reaches his hand out to rub the pad of his thumb across Kurt's body's cheekbone. It's cold. Not freezing like the winter air and not cold like when his hand had fallen through Kurt's hand before. It's just… Not warm, like skin normally is.<p>

Blaine doesn't say a goodbye, because for him it isn't. "Hello, Kurt." he whispers as he gently puts the rose on the closed lower part of the coffin. Kurt walks up to him and their eyes meet for a moment before Kurt looks down at his dead body.

_Kurt has only seen one dead person before. His mother, when he was a child. He doesn't really remember it though. It's probably something that your brain tries to forget. He hadn't expected to see another dead body for a very long time, and certainly not his own. It's really strange. All the previous times he had seen this body, they had been in the mirror, or simply looking down. But now, it doesn't follow his movements, it's just still. Kurt looks down at his ghost-body, that looks just like he remembers his body had when he was alive. His body is right there, but it's also in that coffin. He looks back to his unmoving face, and it's just too much. He whimpers and he feels Blaine's fingers lace lightly with his own. He looks at his body one last time before looking at his hand, and then up at Blaine's face. Blaine is watching Kurt's body still. Kurt lets out another whimper and Blaine looks him in the eye before getting back in his seat, still holding onto Kurt's fingers._

* * *

><p>Most of the people from Kurt's funeral leave after saying their goodbyes. Blaine follows Kurt's family down a small paved path to something that looks like a little clearing, surrounded by trees. The only other people to come with them are a group of teenagers, the suited man, a man with curly hair, a woman with short hair and a woman in a lavender dress.<p>

The suited man does another speech as a few men carry Kurt's coffin to the clearing, and put it down on a metal thing above the grave. Kurt leans closer to Blaine. "My mother is also buried here." he whispers.

"What was her name?" Blaine whispers back and smiles faintly in Kurt's direction.

"Anette."

"That's a beautiful name."

Kurt smiles at him and he smiles back before looking at the people he doesn't recognize. A Latina girl is hugging and comforting a crying blonde. A black girl is sobbing into a short, brown-haired girl's shoulder. An Asian boy is silently crying, clasping his girlfriend's hand tight. Another blonde girl is gripping the cross around her neck tightly, eyes closed and mouth a tight line. A boy in a mohawk looks wrecked, seeming to grip the shoulder of the boy in the wheelchair as to not fall apart. The man with the curly hair and the woman with short hair are standing close together crying silently, hands gripping in what must be a painful hold. The woman in the lavender dress is standing a little bit further back than the rest. Blaine looks at her a little longer than the others. She seems familiar for some reason. She is crying too, one hand flat against her cheek. She must be cold in that dress, Blaine thinks, it looks like it's made out of a very thin fabric. She wipes at her tears and then looks directly at Blaine. Blaine looks away quickly. "Who is that woman?" he whispers to Kurt.

"What woman?" Kurt asks, but doesn't get an answer as everybody looks up to see the coffin being lowered into the grave.

_They are putting my body in the ground! This is it. I'm dead. Kurt feels horrorstruck. He grabs onto Blaine's hand tightly, concentrating with all his mind. _

_They all watch silently when the coffin gets lowered down. Most wipe their tears, getting ready to get in their cars and go back to their normal lives. Kurt watches his friends from Glee club and his heart sinks. Even Noah Puckerman is crying. He knew they all liked him, but not like this. Kurt glances at the other two. He is touched that Will Shuester is there, and absolutely stunned when he realizes who is standing beside him. Sue Sylvester. He watches her until he realizes that the burial is over, that everyone is leaving. Blaine for some reason isn't moving. Kurt glances at his family, walking toward their car. He looks back at Blaine who is still staring at something, but Kurt doesn't understand what._

Why is she so familiar? Where do I know her from? Blaine is watching the lavender-dressed woman again. He doesn't notice the others heading for their cars. She looks up again, straight at him. He looks down at Kurt's grave.

"Hi. I noticed you looking at me." Blaine looks up again to see that the woman has approached him.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry about that." Blaine smiles apologetically at her.

"Blaine, who are you talking to?" Kurt hisses.

"Don't worry about it." the woman says, smiling at Blaine. And wow…

"I thought I recognized you. What's your name?"

"Anette Hummel. I was Kurt's mother."

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued!<strong>

**Author's notes:** Okay, so... Some parts of this might be weird, but I personally like this chapter alot. Maybe because it's so close to my own experiences. Anyway. Let me know what you think! ^^


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, any of their characters or anything that can be related to something that exists in the real word.**

**Warnings:** None, I think.

**Author's notes:** This chapter took forever to write. My father got married on Friday and the mess has been enormous! That said, here comes the chapter. I hope you all like it! ^^

_Italic text is Kurt's experiences._  
>Normal text is Blaine's experiences. <strong><br>_Italic Bold text is Kurt's memories._  
>Normal Bold text is Blaine's memories.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Nailed Shut<strong>

Chapter 6

Blaine is stunned to silence. She was familiar to him because Kurt looks just like her. He sees that now. The hair, the eyes, the smile…

"I'm sorry. You didn't realize I'm a ghost, huh?" she chuckles, and Blaine thinks that Kurt sounds just like her too. "He can't see me?" she asks, but it's more of a statement than a question, Blaine thinks. "He couldn't see me while he was alive either."

"Blaine!" Kurt hisses.

"Tell him to calm down."

Blaine looks away from the woman, and to Kurt.

"What is HAPPENING?" Kurt asks, seeming to be both annoyed and a little scared.

"Calm down, Kurt." Blaine says and tries to smile. "There is another ghost here."

"WHAT? Where? Who?" Kurt asks suspiciously, looking around.

"The woman I asked you about earlier. She says that you couldn't see her when you were alive either." Blaine explains.

"Who IS she?"

"She- Her name- It's your mother."

_My- my mother? My mom? "Mommy?" Well, he hadn't expected to say that last part out loud. "She's- you're here?" Kurt being dead, being a ghost, had just started to sink in. And now this? He hadn't thought once that there'd probably be other ghosts in the world. And not even in his wildest dreams would he have imagined being able to talk to his mother again. Even though as of now, it was only through Blaine. _

_Blaine doesn't look at him. He's looking out into empty space, where Kurt assumes his mother's ghost is standing. _

"_She says that she's been with you and Burt for years, hoping that one day you'd be able to see her." Blaine says, looking back at Kurt. "She couldn't see other ghosts at first either."_

"_So I will be able to do that too, in time?"_

_Blaine looks back at the empty space. "Yes, with some practice." He then looks back at Kurt abruptly. "We should go see my grandmother Lily!" _

Blaine looks back to the woman's ocean eyes. "She has the gift too. She might be able to help me and Kurt see other ghosts."

"Right now?" Kurt asks.

"If you want." Blaine smiles at Kurt. Kurt nods. "Okay. We'll go now. I just have to do something first."

Blaine runs to Burt's car and opens the door. "I'm so sorry to keep you waiting." Blaine apologizes to Kurt's family, holding up the flower he bought earlier. "I'll be right back. I just have to put this by the headstone." He runs back to the grave and finds Kurt and his mother standing close together, though Kurt has no idea. Anette is looking lovingly at her son. When Blaine approaches they both look up. "I got this for you." Blaine says to Kurt and walks up to the newly re-engraved headstone. It now reads:

Anette Hummel  
>Born 14th of January 1970<br>Died 4th of May 2002

And beside it:

Kurt Hummel  
>Born 27th of May 1994<br>Died 21st of October 2011

Blaine leaves the flower right in front of the marble stone. It's a single sunflower with a yellow ribbon around the stem.

"I'll go back to Burt's house. Good luck." Anette says when Blaine turns around to face the two spirits. She walks in the direction of the small parking lot, before suddenly disappearing into thin air.

"She left." Blaine states, staring at the spot where she stopped being visible.

"Sunflower is my favorite flower." Kurt whispers.

Blaine turns to him and smiles. "I guessed as much."

"How?" Kurt has a peculiar look on his face, one that Blaine can't read.

"I saw that your dad had sunflowers in a vase next to a picture of you in the living room."

"What's your favorite flower?"

"Forget-me-not."

"Why?"

Blaine chuckles. "They're pretty. I especially like the pink ones. Also, Aimee likes them. Why is sunflower your favorite?"

"My mother always planted them in the garden when I was a child. And when I got a little older I was kind of amazed by their strength."

"That's a bit deeper than "they're pretty"…" Blaine said, not knowing if it was okay to make jokes and smile this soon.

He didn't have to think about it for long, because Kurt chuckles. "Let's go." Kurt starts walking toward the car, and Blaine follows.

* * *

><p>The drive to the Hummel household is quiet, except for some sniffling from Carole who decided to drive. Finn goes straight into the house without a word when they arrive. Blaine receives an unexpected hug from Kurt's stepmother. "I'm sorry for your loss." Blaine says softly to the woman when she lets go of him. She smiles weakly at him before going into the house too. Blaine shakes hands with a red-eyed Burt before getting into his own car with Kurt.<p>

* * *

><p>Blaine drives himself and Kurt past Dalton and toward his grandmother's house.<p>

"_This is a cute house." Kurt quips as Blaine knocks on the door. _

"_Come in!" a woman calls from within the house. _

_Kurt follows Blaine into a living room with hideous wallpaper and strange things lined along the walls. He and Blaine sit down in one of the two couches, the one facing the staircase. "Who is that?" Kurt asks Blaine and points to a painting of a red-haired man. _

"_I'll be right out. I'm just making some tea." the woman calls from what Kurt assumes is the kitchen._

"_That's my grandfather Rolf. He died twenty-five years ago. My grandmother Lily can see spirits, just like me. And he has been with her pretty much since he died."_

_Blaine rises out of the sofa and takes a silver tray with two mugs from a woman with Blaine's curls (though they are gray unlike Blaine's). Blaine sets the tray down cautiously on the table between the couches and sits back down. The woman seats herself on the other couch, facing them and taking one of the tea mugs. Blaine takes the other one and Kurt watches as he wraps his hands around it and leans back in the sofa. _

"_Good afternoon boys." the woman says and looks between them. She can see me? "Rolf tells me you saw another ghost at Kurt's funeral today. And you both want some help to see more spirits." The woman – oh wait, Kurt knows her name – Lily states and looks at Blaine. _

"_You can see me?" Kurt asks before he can stop himself. _

"_Of course I can, dear." Lily turns her warm gaze to Kurt._

"_I saw Kurt's mother Anette. But Kurt couldn't see her." Blaine explains._

"_I see. Well, there are a couple of things we can try, but I have to get some… supplies first." Lily puts her mug back on the table._

"_Anette said she couldn't see other ghosts at first, so maybe we'll both be able to?" Blaine leans forward. "Wait… How come I saw her but I still can't see grandpa?" _

"_Well… I don't know exactly, but funerals are special. Perhaps you were more open because of the mood." Lily says and turns to Kurt to change the topic. "I assume you are having to concentrate really hard for your spirit-body to be solid?"_

Kurt seems as surprised the second time Lily speaks to him as he did the first. "I- yeah…"

"That will get easier. It took Rolf about a year before he could stop concentrating while still being solid. If you pick something up while concentrating and then stop, you drop it, correct?"

"Yes, ma'am." Kurt tilts his head slightly to the side, and Blaine thinks that it must be something he does unconsciously.

"Rolf could after a lot of work choose to be solid, or not. Imagine it as… pressing a mental button." Lily explains, and Blaine smiles to himself because of his grandmother's fancy to use metaphors.

"So he would be un-solid, "press the mental button" and then he was solid until he turned it off again?" Kurt gestures with his hands at the button-part and Blaine holds back a giggle as he sets his mug back on the table.

"Yes, Kurt. Pretty much like that."

Blaine's stomach surprises all of them when it grumbles loudly. Kurt chuckles and looks at Blaine. "I guess we should head back to Dalton and get some food in you?"

Lily stands. "Blaine honey, you know you can call if the two of you have any questions at all. Have a safe trip."

The old woman ushers them out of the house and Blaine and Kurt are quiet most of the trip back to Dalton.

* * *

><p>After Blaine has eaten dinner, he and Kurt go upstairs to the dorm rooms. When they enter the corridor they hear a horror movie-scream coming from one of the rooms, a few boys squealing in terror and a few laughing hysterically right after. Kurt follows Blaine into his room and sits in the armchair, facing Blaine who seats himself on the bed.<p>

"So… How did you handle everything today?" Kurt asks.

When Blaine stares at him he just looks at his knees. "I handled it fine. I have never seen a dead person before, but it felt kind of distant. It was just a shell, because to me you're here, alive." Kurt smiles a little, but continues to look at his own knees. "I could feel that you had a rough time." Kurt nods so Blaine pats the bed beside him. "C'mere."

Kurt looks up with his eyes wide. He stands and walks over slowly, hesitating before sitting down next to Blaine. He rests his palms on the bed beside where he is sitting, so Blaine sees his chance to do the same. Kurt shuts his eyes and sighs, almost unnoticeable, as Blaine's fingers land on top of his. Blaine assumes it's a happy sigh, or a relieved one at least.

"Let's sing something together." Blaine suggest, moving his thumb lightly over Kurt's pinky.

Kurt opens his eyes back up and moves his whole torso to look at Blaine. "Sing what?"

"Somewhere Only We Know?"

"As a duet?" Kurt raises an eyebrow.

"Yes. I think singing might make you feel a little better." Blaine says before clearing his throat and beginning to sing softly. "I walked across an empty land; I knew the pathway like the back of my hand."

Kurt smiles faintly, and continues the song, just as soft. "I felt the earth, beneath my feet. Sat by the river, and it made me complete."

Blaine uses a bit more force behind his words as he continues. "Oh simple thing, where have you gone? I'm getting old and I need something to rely on."

Kurt does the same. "So tell me when you're gonna let me in. I'm getting tired and I need somewhere to begin."

They go back to singing softly during the next verse, before singing the chorus together. "And if you have a minute why don't we go, talk about it somewhere only we know. This could be the end of everything. So why don't we go, somewhere only we know?"

When they finish the song they are both grinning widely at each other. But none of them noticed David opening the door just an inch to listen, about a minute ago.

"_That did make me feel better. Thank you, Blaine. I-" Kurt begins, but he gets interrupted by a knock on the door._

_David peeks his head into the room. "Blaine? Are you on the phone?" _

_Blaine doesn't move his hand away from Kurt's, but he shakes his head as David walks into the room. There is more screaming from Nick and Jeff's room, so David closes the door behind him. "What were you singing?"_

"_Um… I- Somewhere Only We Know." Blaine swallows. _

"_As a duet, by yourself?" David puts a book down on Blaine's desk before seating himself in the desk chair. _

"_Yes! I was practicing." Blaine exclaims, so enthusiastically that Kurt doubts David will believe it. "For later, when I will be on the phone. Yeah!"_

"_Okay…" David rolls his eyes, probably giving up on trying to get Blaine to talk about it. "I brought your homework." He points to the book he left on the desk. "Math. Page forty-three to fifty-one."_

"_Thank you, David."_

"_How did it go today?" David asks shyly after a moment of silence. _

"_As good as it can, I suppose. Though funerals are never fun."_

"_Yeah, I can imagine. I've never been to one myself however." David rises from the chair. "I'll leave you. You probably had a hard day, and they are waiting for me in Jeff and Nick's room. Goodnight, Blaine."_

"_Goodnight David."_

* * *

><p>Blaine rings the doorbell to his parents' house at five sharp on Thursday evening.<p>

"Sir Blaine. Welcome." Charles greets when he opens the door.

"Hey Charles. Where's Aimee?" Blaine asks.

But the butler has no chance to answer before Aimee comes barreling down the hallway, throwing herself at Blaine's legs. Blaine chuckles and bends down to hug her and kiss her forehead. "Hi baby. How was your day?"

Aimee tells Blaine about her day while dragging him by the hand into her room. They sit on the floor and she hands him a paper with a list written in bright pink crayon. Blaine chuckles fondly at it. "Are these the things you want for your birthday?" Aimee nods enthusiastically so Blaine starts reading aloud from the list. "A pony, horsies, a tiara, a princess dress, see Blainey's x-mas show, sparkly pens and a puppy." Blaine smiles at his little sister who is watching him with bright eyes. "Did Charles tell you about my Christmas-show?" Aimee nods. "Well, I think most of these things are good wishes. But you know what I said about a puppy."

"I know, Blainey." Aimee says with that adorable defeated-little-girl voice.

"Same goes for a pony." Blaine tries to be a bit stern, but has to bite his lip to not giggle at her expression. "And with horsies you mean those colorful ones with glitter and stuff, right?"

"Yes! Those! Mom gave me one when I goed with her to the store. But there are so many!"

"We'll see what I can do. So, what do you have planned for us today?"

* * *

><p><em>Kurt can't help but spend his afternoon reading Blaine's marked poems while curled up in the armchair in his room. But Blaine is going to be gone for about three or four hours so eventually Kurt has read all of them and heads out of the room. <em>

_He wonders what Blaine is like with his little sister. And how he will be when she gets older. If he'll be the overprotective type of brother to chase away boys or the one that takes her shopping for shoes. Or both. _

_Kurt decides to go for a walk on the huge grounds of the school. It's probably freezing outside, but he feels completely comfortable in just his knitted yellow cardigan. He finds a tree on the edge of the property and sits down against the thick tree trunk. He thinks this must be a beautiful spot during summer._

* * *

><p>Aimee is eager to show Blaine her new crayons, so they draw for a while. Aimee draws a yellow dinosaur with short legs and a long neck for Blaine, and he promises her that he will put it up in his room at school. In return Blaine draws a princess with long brown hair and a purple dress. He then helps Aimee pin it to the wall above her bed. "What do you wanna do now?"<p>

"Can we watch Ariel?"

"Sure, honey!" Blaine says and lifts Aimee up to carry her on his hip to the living room. He sets her down on the couch. She jumps up and down on it while he turns the TV on and puts the movie in the DVD-player. He then sits down next to her and she snuggles up to him, snaking her arms around his much thicker arm and hugging it as the movie begins.

"You have to sing the songs, Blainey!"

"Don't I always?" he smiles at the top of her head before returning his eyes to the TV.

* * *

><p><em>Kurt listens to the creaking of the branches and watches the sky between them. He sings to himself for a while, until he hears voices. He returns his eyes to the school grounds and sees Wes hiding behind a building, with a girl. They are standing really close together, foreheads leaned against one another. Kurt sighs and returns his eyes to the sky.<em>

* * *

><p>Aimee's head falls to Blaine's arm in the middle of the movie, about a minute after Blaine finishes singing along loudly to one of the songs. "Baby, you awake?" he whispers and strokes a curl from her face with his free hand.<p>

"Uh-huh." she mumbles.

"Come on." Blaine says and scoops her up into her arms. He clutches her to his chest as she links her legs behind his back and leans her head on his shoulder. Blaine turns the movie and TV off with some difficulty but eventually walks back toward Aimee's room.

Charles smiles at them as they pass him in the hallway. Blaine sets Aimee down on her feet in her bedroom and she whines in protest.

"Aimee. If you get into your pajamas and brush your teeth I'll read a story for you and then sing a song, okay?"

"Only if I get to sit on your lap."

"You always do." Blaine smiles and ushers her into her tiny baby-pink and white bathroom. He chooses a book from her bookshelf and settles on the bed just as she walks back out from the bathroom.

Aimee climbs onto the bed and they settle under the covers, Blaine leaning against the headboard and Aimee against his chest. He reads her a short story, complete with silly voice-changes that always make her giggle. When he's done he puts the book on her nightstand and turns the lamp off.

"What do you want me to sing?" Blaine asks and brushes his fingers through her hair.

"Anythin'." she mumbles against his t-shirt.

Blaine sings her a song that he often sang to her when she was a baby, and she is snoring softly before he ends it. He leans his head down and smiles into her hair. "Goodnight baby." he whispers and takes a deep breath, smelling her strawberry shampoo. He carefully gets of the bed and lays her down. He pulls the covers up to her chin and kisses her forehead. "I love you, Aimee."

She sighs contently and he straightens, smiling at the photo of the two of them on her nightstand. Blaine takes the book and places it back in the shelf before tiptoeing out of the room.

"Is she asleep?" Charles asks as Blaine steps into his shoes.

"She is. I'll pick her up on her birthday. Mr. and Mrs. Anderson don't have anything planned for that day, right?"

"They do not. They will have a birthday-party for her the weekend after." Charles helps Blaine put his coat on.

"Thank you, Charles. I will see you then."

"Bye, Sir Blaine."

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued!<strong>

**Author's notes: **I had to rewrite like a fourth of this chapter (the part when they visit Lily) because I wasn't happy with it. I hope it turned out alright.  
>Let me know what you think. I love all of you! ^^<p> 


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, any of their characters or anything that can be related to something that exists in the real word.**

**Warnings:** None, I think.

**Author's notes:** I have a hard time writing anything fluffy or happy. I get stuck alot and feel like it won't be good. I enjoy writing angst more. But here comes a fluffy chapter. I hope you all like it! ^^

_Italic text is Kurt's experiences._  
>Normal text is Blaine's experiences. <strong><br>_Italic Bold text is Kurt's memories._  
>Normal Bold text is Blaine's memories.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Nailed Shut<strong>

Chapter 7

"_Hi there!"_

_Kurt looks down from the treetop to find Blaine standing in front of him, smiling. Kurt smiles back. "Hi. How was your evening with Aimee?" _

"_Awesome." Blaine's eyes drift to the sky for a moment before he looks back at Kurt. "We drew pictures, watched "The Little Mermaid" and then I read her a story and sang her to sleep."_

"_Sounds like a pleasant way to spend the evening." _

"_Indeed. What did you do?"_

"_I read through all the poems that you'd marked in your books, and then I went here to sing and… think." _

"_Nice." Blaine takes a step closer. "Could I ask you a favor?" Kurt just looks at him questioningly, so he continues. "I need help to decide where to put the piece of artwork that I just got."_

"_I love interior design! I could redecorate your whole room if you'd like!"_

_Blaine chuckles. "Let's not get carried away here."_

* * *

><p>"So, how big is the artwork?" Kurt asks while looking around at Blaine's walls.<p>

Blaine gestures with his hands. "'bout this big."

"Well, since there isn't much of a color-theme in here with the stuff on the walls, I guess the colors don't matter. We just need to find an empty space." Kurt walks over to the wall beside Blaine's bed, the side that doesn't have the picture of Blaine and Aimee. "We could put the painting here. It would give some balance." He turns to face Blaine, who is holding back giggles. "So, where is it?"

Blaine walks over to his bag by the door and pulls the picture Aimee drew out of it. He holds it up so Kurt can see it. "It's a dinosaur."

Kurt raises an eyebrow at Blaine. "Charming." Kurt takes the dinosaur-drawing and pins it to the wall above the nightstand that Blaine rarely uses. "It's really cute. But I was hoping to get some actual art in here."

"It's art to me. And, at least I have poetry." Blaine shrugs.

* * *

><p><em>The next Friday afternoon Kurt sits in Blaine's car waiting. He manages to turn the radio on to a station with acceptable music. He turns the volume down low when he sees Blaine approach the car with damp curls – that makes Kurt's mouth fall open for a second, before he manages to close it again – and a pink (Pink? Seriously, Blaine? PINK!) t-shirt visible below his coat. <em>

_Blaine smiles at Kurt after getting into the driver's seat. "Hi. I had to shower and change. I always feel silly when I wear my blazer in public." Blaine puts his seatbelt on. _

"_But you don't feel silly wearing a pink t-shirt?" _

Blaine chuckles. "At least no one at the mall will judge you for hanging out with me. Since they can't see you."

"Are we going to the mall so you can buy a birthday present for Aimee?" Kurt asks as Blaine starts the car.

"Yup. I brought the list." Blaine says and picks the folded piece of paper out of his pocket, handing it to Kurt.

Blaine starts driving off of campus as Kurt unfolds it and giggles at the pink crayon letters. "I'm assuming you're not getting her a pony or a puppy?"

"Nope. Her parents wouldn't like that." Blaine sees Kurt's hands jerk involuntarily. "I'm getting her the other things."

"What is this Christmas show? You haven't told me about that." Kurt says and folds the paper again.

After a moment Blaine feels Kurt slip the paper into his jacket pocket and Blaine thinks that his heart might have skipped a beat.

"_It's the last day of school before the winter break. On the evening of the 23__rd__ of December the Warblers will have a… concert , I guess. Wanna come?" Blaine smiles at Kurt before exiting the school grounds. _

"_You won't be able to keep me away." Kurt smiles back. _

_They drive for a while in silence, Kurt squirming a little in his seat. "Blaine?"_

"_Yes, Kurt?" Blaine glances at him briefly. _

"_Her parents? Is it really that bad?" _

_Blaine chuckles darkly. "Yeah… I only call them "mom and dad" when I'm talking to Aimee. If not, I call them either "her parents", "Mr. and Mrs. Anderson" or by their first names. It's been that way for a while."_

"_Do you want to talk about it?"_

"_Nah… There's not much to say. You know the reason for it…"_

"_When did you come out?" _

"_It was back in September of 2008, when I had just started High School. So Wyland sent me to Dalton like two weeks after I started going to my old school…"_

"_That must have been rough."_

"_It was. I was just fourteen after all. But Dalton welcomed me with open arms." Kurt sees the corner of Blaine's lip twist upward a little. _

"_I wish I could have had that." Kurt whispers before he can stop himself._

"I'm sorry, Kurt." Blaine looks at him for a second longer than probably appropriate when driving. "When did you…?"

"2009, sophomore year. My dad took it well, he said he had known for a long time. My friends weren't really surprised either. But the bullies used it against me. And apparently being gay was enough for me to get killed."

Kurt is dead, Blaine thinks. He is dead, you know that. Why do you keep forgetting? He tries to brush it off, to seem nonchalant. But by the look Kurt is giving him, he has failed. "I wish you could've gone to Dalton too."

Kurt looks thoughtful for a while. "I get to be there every day now." Kurt smiles as Blaine drives the car into the mall's parking lot.

Blaine doesn't really know how to respond to that, so he just smiles back. He parks the car close to the entrance and they get out.

* * *

><p>The first thing to greet them when they come inside is a coffee-shop with huge potted trees in the corners of the serving area.<p>

"That's where I know those from!" Kurt exclaims.

They are in a public place now, so Blaine doesn't ask Kurt about his outburst; he just raises an eyebrow at him questioningly.

"Oh. Um... When I first arrived at Dalton I didn't remember much about stuff from before I died, or at least I didn't think about them. When I first saw the tree in your room I started thinking about coffee and clothes. This explains it. I was remembering going to malls!"

Blaine grins at Kurt when he turns back to look at the plants. They continue walking past a few clothing stores that Kurt glances at longingly. They turn a corner and a toy-store comes into their line of vision. Kurt releases a cry of delight and starts running. Blaine thinks it would look weird for him to start running too, so he just walks a little faster into the store.

He finds Kurt between two rows of all kinds of pink toys.

"Look Blaine! This tiara is beautiful! Aimee's going to love it!" Kurt squeals and holds the tiara out toward Blaine. "It doesn't even look plastic and crappy like-"

"Kurt!" Blaine hisses in panic, looking around. "Put that back! People can't see you, remember?"

Kurt hurries to put the tiara back on the shelf as Blaine runs a hand down his face.

"I'm sorry Blaine! I forgot." Kurt looks at his feet. "I just got so excited and-"

"It's okay Kurt." Blaine interrupts him in a whisper. "But we didn't even get a shopping basket." He smiles softly when Kurt looks up to meet his eyes again. "I'll go get one. Why don't you try to find those colorful horses with glitter and stuff?" Kurt nods happily and wanders off. "Just don't lift anything!" Blaine calls out after him, as quietly as he can while still wanting Kurt to hear him. Blaine sighs through his grin and walks back to the entrance of the store to get a basket.

* * *

><p>The store is bigger than it looked like from the outside, so it takes Blaine a couple of minutes to find Kurt again. But when he does, Kurt is standing with his back toward him, bending down to look at something on a table. Blaine stands next to him and he looks up.<p>

"Found 'em!" Kurt chirps happily.

"What color should we buy?" Blaine asks when he's made sure nobody is around to hear them.

"Oh, definitely the white one!" Kurt points to a horse with silvery tail and mane.

"I think she's going to love that one." Blaine grabs an identical horse (in packaging) from the shelf behind the table that's showing off the different color-choices, and drops it into the basket. "Great!" he exclaims as Kurt straightens to continue the shopping. "So that's your gift. Which one should I get her?"

_Kurt gapes at Blaine. "What? No. No, no."_

"_I'm not wasting money, Kurt. I was planning on buying her two anyway. This way one will be from you." _

"_You can get the money back from my dad! We can go over there after-"_

"_Kurt. Stop it. I'm paying for your gift for her. 'Kay?" Kurt huffs. Blaine grins triumphantly at him and continues. "What about the rainbow one?" He points to a very light-pink horse with rainbow-colored tail and mane._

"_Oh my God, Blaine! You had to pick the gay horse?" _

_Blaine giggles and grabs one of those from the shelf too. "It's pretty." He shrugs and walks away. _

_Kurt follows him back to where he had found the tiara. He watches Blaine's arms when he reaches up to grab a tiara from the top shelf. Wow, Kurt thinks, Blaine's gorgeous. Blaine puts the tiara in the basket and gestures for Kurt to follow him to the clothes-section of the store._

* * *

><p><em>The two boys are sitting on the floor of Blaine's dorm room; with the gifts, wrapping paper, tape and present-string scattered around them. Blaine wraps the sparkly pens in glossy pink paper and puts white string around it while Kurt wraps one of the horses in golden paper and purple string. <em>

_When Kurt is done with wrapping the other horse he looks over to see Blaine putting paper around the princess-dress that they bought. "You are ridiculous, Blaine. Give me that!" He snatches the dress from Blaine and tosses the box with the tiara at him. "Wrap that instead. I'll take care of the dress. Do you have an empty box that I can put it in?" _

"_Ah! Very smart." Blaine chuckles. "I'll check." He stands and looks around in his closet for a while. "Found one!" Blaine emerges from the closet and gives the box to Kurt, before returning to wrap the tiara in the golden paper. _

_Kurt folds the dress neatly to fit in the box and wraps it in a pale pink paper._

* * *

><p>Blaine is free after lunch on Monday, as per usual. Kurt accompanies him at lunch and when he loads the car with Aimee's gifts.<p>

"I forgot to buy her a card. So we'll just swing by the store so I can get one." Blaine says while he pulls shirts out of a drawer in his dresser. "What should I wear?" he whines, looking pleadingly at Kurt.

"Well, I would assume she loves the pink t-shirt. But I'm going to advise you to never ever wear it again. Therefore, I suggest the crimson cardigan instead." Kurt says matter-of-factly from his position in the armchair.

"You seem to know these things." Blaine removes his t-shirt and pulls the cardigan over his head. When he looks back at Kurt his mouth is open slightly, eyes wide. Blaine clears his throat.

"Oh! Um, yes. I would say I'm kind of an expert when it comes to fashion." Kurt averts his eyes away from Blaine, and focuses them on something on the wall beside his head. "Do they have cake at that pancake place?"

Blaine walks into the bathroom to fix his hair. "Nope. I thought we could buy one on the way over. So it'll be "fresh"." he says through the open bathroom door. "We can eat it at her house while she opens the gifts. And then we leave for Pancake Palace when we get hungry. Her parents will be at work since it's still daytime."

* * *

><p><em>Kurt follows Blaine into the store to find a card. They stop next to the shelf and scan it for the perfect one. Kurt sees a card with the number five on it (pink and very sparkly) and points at it. Blaine picks up the card next to it, one with a cute kitten on it. When he opens it the card purrs like a cat, and Blaine shuts it again. <em>

"_Not that one. The pink one!" Kurt says and points again. _

_Blaine puts the kitten-card back and picks up the pink one, together with an envelope. He pays for it and scribbles his greeting into it, since no one is in line behind him. _

"_Happy Birthday Aimee! Love, Blaine." Kurt reads over his shoulder. "Aaaaaaawwwww!" he exclaims and Blaine smiles as he puts the card in the envelope._

* * *

><p>"<em>What kind of cake should we get her?" Blaine asks as he parks his car in front of a bakery. <em>

"_What does she like?"_

"_I don't know really… But everybody loves chocolate, right? Especially girls?"_

"_Perhaps." _

"_Welcome to Westerville's Cakery!" a fat man greets them from behind a huge counter filled with pictures of cakes. "What can I help you with?"_

"_I need a birthday cake for my little sister who turns five today. What flavors would you recommend?" Blaine says and leans his hip casually against the counter. _

"_Well, for a lil' girl I'd probably recommend either strawberry or our double chocolate cake."_

"_Does the double chocolate one have dark chocolate?" Blaine furrows his eyebrows and Kurt giggles. Blaine must not like dark chocolate, Kurt thinks. _

"_No. It's regular chocolate, and also white." _

"_Oh! Then I want one of those. The biggest you have, please." Blaine smiles at the man._

"_Do you want anything written on it?" the fat man says and starts scribbling on a post-it-note. _

"_Happy birthday Aimee. That's A-I-M-E-E." Blaine spells out for him. _

"_Thank you. It'll be done in a few minutes. You can wait over there." the man says and gestures toward three chairs beside a round table behind them. _

_Blaine and Kurt sit down across from each other. "Not a fan of dark chocolate?" Kurt asks with a grin._

_Blaine shakes his head._

* * *

><p>Kurt rings the doorbell to Blaine's parents house a few minutes past one o'clock.<p>

Charles the butler opens and smiles wide at Blaine. "Sir Blaine. Welcome!" Blaine and Kurt step inside and Charles closes the door behind them. "Annie is with Aimee in her room."

They walk down the hallway toward the kitchen and Blaine finds Kurt's facial expression very amusing. Kurt is looking around like he has never seen the inside of a house before. Blaine isn't surprised that someone (who isn't used to the amount of money that Mr. and Mrs. Anderson have) finds the decorations of their house to be… interesting.

"Blaine, dear!" the blonde nanny named Annie exclaims and hurries toward him.

"Annie." Blaine greets her with a kiss to each cheek, while still holding the box with the cake. "How've you been?"

"Just great. I love looking after Aimee. She's got quite the personality, just like her big brother." She winks at him.

Blaine laughs a fake laugh. "Very funny. I am taking Aimee out for her birthday, so you can go home early today." He smiles at her.

"Thank you. I do have something important to tend to." she says and hurries down the hallway.

"Annie!" Blaine calls after her, and she stops to look back at him. "Could you ask Charles to bring in the gifts from the trunk of my car?"

Annie the nanny blows him a kiss and continues toward the front door.

Blaine leads Kurt into the massive all-white kitchen and sets the cake-box down on the kitchen island. He opens the box and searches through the cabinets to find something to serve the cake on, while Kurt explores the room in awe.

"It's so PRETTY!" Kurt squeaks.

Blaine chuckles as he finds a big silver tray to put the cake on. He puts the cake on the table on the far side of the room.

"I found balloons." Kurt says, holding open a cabinet.

"Perfect. Can you blow those up while I go get Aimee?" Blaine asks and puts two plates on the table.

"Sure!" Kurt says and begins doing so as Blaine leaves the room.

* * *

><p>"Happy birthday baby!" Blaine exclaims when he bursts through the door to Aimee's bedroom.<p>

"Blainey!" Aimee shouts and throws herself into his arms. They hug for a minute before she leans back to look at him. "Did nanny Annie go home?"

"She did. It's just you and me for a few hours." Blaine rubs their noses together. "I got you something. It's in the kitchen. Let's go. Don't peek!" Blaine puts her down and leads her into the kitchen with his hands over her eyes.

* * *

><p>He puts her on a chair in front of the cake, while she hides her eyes behind her own hands. Kurt has hung balloons in fitting areas of the kitchen and Charles has brought the presents in and put them on the table next to the cake. Charles also seems to have made a pitcher of lemonade.<p>

"Okay, just a little while longer." Blaine says and lights the five candles on the cake. "Done! You ready?" Aimee nods as Blaine sits down in the chair opposite her, Kurt standing beside him. "Look!"

Aimee removes her hands from her eyes and squeaks in delight. "It's so pretty, Blainey!"

"Blow out the candles. But don't forget to make a wish!" Blaine smiles at her.

Aimee thinks for a while, looking down at her plate. "Oh!" she says and stands on her knees on the chair to blow the candles out. "I wished that-" she begins when she's done, but Blaine interrupts her.

"Don't tell! Then it won't come true."

She beams up at her bigger brother and sits back down properly. Her eyes go wide. "Oh! I'm sorry. Hi! I'm Aimee. What's your name?"

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued. <strong>

**Author's notes: **So, as I said: I always think the fluffy parts won't be any good. If you would like me to cut down on those parts and write more of the angst, please let me know.  
>Or just any thoughts or wishes you have for the story. Thank you all for reading! I love you all.<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, any of their characters or anything that can be related to something that exists in the real word.**

**Warnings:** None, I think.

**Author's notes:** I have changed 2 things. First thing: Kurt's birthday on the headstone (since his birthday is now canon), however in this story both Kurt and Blaine are born 1994 (canon states 1993). Second thing: the meanings of the bold text (see below).  
>As I've said: I have a hard time writing anything fluffy or happy. I get stuck alot and feel like it won't be good. I enjoy writing angst more. This chapter is kinda fluffy at first, and then not so much. I hope you all like it! ^^<p>

_Italic text is Kurt's experiences._  
>Normal text is Blaine's experiences. <strong><br>_Italic Bold text is Kurt's thoughts._  
>Normal Bold text is Blaine's thoughts.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Nailed Shut<strong>

Chapter 8

Blaine gasps and Kurt stares in chock at the little girl.

"You can see him?" Blaine looks at Kurt and then back at Aimee.

"Of course I can. Silly Blainey!" Aimee giggles.

"My name is Kurt. It's nice to meet you Aimee. Blaine talks about you all the time." Kurt sits down in the chair next to Blaine. "Happy birthday!"

"Thank you, Kurt. Blainey, I want cake!" The little girl pokes a finger into the frosting and then licks it off.

"Of course." Blaine says a bit out of breath, and cuts her a piece.

"Was it you that played with my brother when I brushed my teeth?" Aimee takes a bite of her cake and makes an approving noise.

"Yeah." Kurt grins at Blaine as the latter serves himself a piece of cake too. Kurt takes the pitcher and fills the two Anderson's glasses.

"Don't you want cake?" Aimee holds her spoon up as if to show Kurt what he is missing.

"No, thank you. I ate a very big lunch." Kurt smiles apologetically at her.

Aimee shrugs and continues to nibble on her cake. Blaine eats his in just a few bites.

"Is it good?" Kurt teases him.

"Awesome!" Aimee replies, a smudge of chocolate on her cheek.

_Kurt gets off his chair to find some paper towels. He does so and runs one under water to make it wet. He walks back over to the table and rubs Aimee's cheek with it. "There, all clean!" _

"_Thank you." Aimee says and swallows the last of her cake, eyeing the presents excitedly. "Are all those for me?" She turns to Blaine._

"_Yup. And since you're done with the cake, you can open them!" _

_The little girl squeaks in delight and Blaine hands her the first gift. It contains the sparkly pens and she forgets about the rest of the gifts for a moment because she wants to use them, until Blaine hands her the next box. It's the princess dress, so she jumps out of her seat, racing toward the bathroom to change into it. Blaine looks adoringly after her and Kurt giggles at him. _

_"It's adorable how much you two love each other." Kurt answers the unspoken "what?" Blaine has on his face when he turns back to him. _

_Blaine just smiles in response and Aimee races back into the room after a couple of minutes. She does a little spin and both boys tell her how pretty she is. The next gift she opens is the tiara, which she puts on top of her curly head. She opens the package with Blaine's horse first, and squeals as she turns it over in her small hands. "It's so pretty, Blainey!" she squeaks._

"_Open the last one." her brother says, waving his hands in the gift's direction. _

_She does so and squeals even louder. _

"_That one is from Kurt!" Blaine says, watching as a blush blossoms on Kurt's cheeks._

"_Thank you!" Aimee says and races around the table to place a kiss on a shocked Kurt's cheek._

_She proceeds to give Blaine the same treatment. He hugs her and she wiggles out of his arms, brushing the front of her dress. "Wrinkles!" she whines, and both boys laugh. _

"_You ready to go?" Blaine asks Aimee while starting to put away the dishes. _

"_Soon." she replies and runs out of the kitchen. Kurt and Blaine look at each other and both shrug. She comes back just as quickly as she left, clutching a paper in her hand. "I forgot to give you this last time you visited, Blainey." she says and holds the paper out toward him. Blaine finishes putting the cake into the fridge and then takes it from her. It's a drawing of two ghosts holding hands. "I made it for you for Halloween." Aimee explains. _

"_It's beautiful." Blaine says and rubs his thumb over the grass in the picture. "I'll put it up next to the dinosaur-drawing."_

* * *

><p><em>Blaine, Kurt and Aimee seat themselves in a corner of the pancake establishment and a young blonde waitress walks up to them. "Hi honey! You're adorable!" she says and bends forward to take a closer look at Aimee's dress.<em>

"_It's my birthday!" Aimee says happily. "I got this dress and my tiara from my big brother." She points at Blaine, who sits across from her. "And I got my horsie from Kurt!" she says and gestures to Kurt with the horse. _

_The waitress glances briefly in Kurt's direction, then straightens and looks at Blaine with a mildly confused expression. __**Well, she did not see me…**__ "What can I get you today?" the waitress asks Blaine. _

"_Two plates of pancakes, a soda for her and some water for me." Blaine says and leans closer to the waitress, to whisper behind his hand while Aimee plays happily with the horse on the tabletop. "And your birthday special."_

_The waitress winks at him and disappears into the kitchen. Aimee shuffles closer to Kurt on the wooden bench of the little booth. "Aren't you hungry yet?" she asks and locks eyes with him. _

"_No, sweetie. Not yet. Don't worry about me though. There's plenty of food at Dalton incase I'm hungry later." Kurt responds. _

Aimee accepts that as an answer and continues to play with her horse. Blaine keeps up the conversation with both his little sister and with Kurt, so no one will notice that Aimee is excitedly asking Kurt a bunch of questions.

After about half an hour the blonde waitress returns to their table with a bunch of other waitresses and a few waiters in tow. They sing for Aimee and the blonde puts a plate down in front of her. On the plate is a cupcake with pink frosting and a single, lit candle. Aimee once again makes a wish and blows out the candle, and all the staff that sung to her clap their hands.

* * *

><p>Blaine is kind of worried when he and Kurt drop Aimee off at the Anderson residence. He knows that Aimee is going to want to hug Kurt, and he's not sure if Kurt can do that.<p>

It turns out he has nothing to worry about. Kurt bends down and his brows draw together as he concentrates on being solid when Aimee throws her arms out. She wraps her arms around Kurt's neck and kisses him on the cheek afterward. "Thank you for the horsie, Kurt!" she says as Kurt straightens back up. "And for errythin' else."

"You're welcome, pumpkin. Thanks for letting me celebrate with you." Kurt replies with a wide smile that makes Blaine's chest tingle.

"I like you." Aimee declares and nods at Kurt, before hugging Blaine's legs.

Blaine laughs and picks her up, positioning her on his hip. "Did you have a good fifth birthday, baby?" he asks and nuzzles his nose against her cheek.

She giggles and nods. "Thank you, Blainey!" She hugs his neck too, and he sets her down.

Blaine rings the doorbell and Charles opens after just a few seconds. "Sir Blaine. Birthday girl!" Charles bends down toward Aimee. "Your parents will be home soon, so you should go play in your room." He pats her head and she bounces off down the hallway.

"Bye Blaine! Bye Kurt!" Aimee calls out to them without looking back.

Charles looks at Blaine with a very confused expression. "Imaginary friend." Blaine blurts, and his heart clenches as Kurt's face falls.

"Thank you, Sir Blaine."

"No, thank you, Charles." Blaine says. "See you later."

The butler closes the door and Kurt follows Blaine to his car.

Kurt spends the car-ride mostly quiet, unless Blaine asks him something.

* * *

><p>When they get back to Dalton Blaine puts the ghost-drawing up above the dinosaur-one on the wall. There is a knock on Blaine's door, and he glances at Kurt who is sitting in the armchair with his eyes closed. He opens the door to find Jeff bouncing on his heels. "Hello Jeffrey."<p>

"Hey dude! I saw that you just came back from off-campus?"

"Yeah. Aimee turns five today so I have spent the day with her." Blaine says, leaning against the doorframe.

"Cool. Tell her I congratulated her, next time you talk to her." Blaine nods so Jeff continues. "Wanna come over and watch a movie with me and Nick?"

"I'm sorry, I can't. Science-test on Thursday."

Jeff frowns, but then grins. "Okay, that's fine. We'll watch a movie after you ace that test."

Blaine huffs in amusement. "Thanks, Jeff. Have a good night."

"You too." Jeff skips down the hall to Wes and David's room and Blaine closes the door.

"You don't need to study for that test at all, do you?" Kurt asks when Blaine walks over to his bed.

"No." Blaine sits down cross-legged and sighs. "I'm sorry about what I said."

"Hmm?" Kurt hums in what Blaine knows is fake confusion, eyes still closed.

"I'm sorry I told Charles that you were Aimee's imaginary friend." Blaine clarifies, even though he knows that Kurt understood perfectly what he was talking about.

"Don't worry about it. How else would you explain who I am?" Kurt opens his eyes with a sigh.

"I don't care that it was the only way to… He wouldn't have believed me if I told him that you're a ghost. We both know that. But Kurt, I saw your face. So I'm sorry."

"I know. It's okay. I forgive you." Kurt's lips curl upward a tiny bit. "I'm dead. I'm a ghost. Not everybody can see me. We'll just have to get used to that."

"I'm still sorry."

They are both silent for a minute, until Kurt straightens slightly in the chair. "You should've watched that movie with Jeff and Nick."

"I like hanging out with you, though." Blaine grins at Kurt, whose cheeks turn pink.

* * *

><p>Blaine doesn't watch a movie with Jeff and Nick after getting a perfect score on his test that Thursday. And since he is spending his days in classes and his evenings studying, talking to Kurt or "helping" him practice on being solid, he doesn't hang out with any of his friends for a couple of weeks.<p>

On December 2nd however, a few of the Warblers corner him after Warblers practice. "Hey Blaine." an unusually serious Jeff says.

"We wanna talk to you." Nick says, blocking Blaine's route for the door.

"It's important." Trent fills in, standing next to Jeff.

"Really important." David says, taking his place beside Trent.

Blaine gulps as Wes stands next to David, completing the boys' half-circle around Blaine. "You have been acting really weird ever since Halloween." Wes says and holds up his hand, folding down fingers as he continues. "You've been talking to yourself in hallways, singing half-duets with no one in particular, forgetting to eat often, hanging out with us A LOT less and most importantly: you've been distant in rehearsal."

"I'd say the last one is less important than the one before, tho." Jeff interjects.

"All of us but Wes agree with you." Nick whispers to him.

"So, what do you have to say for yourself?" Wes crosses his arms across his chest.

"Is everything okay?" David says softly. "You wouldn't tell us about that funeral. Is that it?"

"Are you depressed?" Trent looks heartbroken.

"Guys, I'm fine." Blaine puts his hands up. "Yeah, I was bummed about the funeral for a couple of days. But it was just an old relative, nothing to worry about."

"What is it, then?" Nick asks seriously, though his facial expression is soft and concerned.

Blaine panics. **What should I tell them?** "I- Um… I have a boyfriend. Yeah!" Blaine exclaims, lowering his hands again. His fellow Warblers share looks of skepticism and disbelief. "He lives in Columbus. We talk on the phone and Skype a lot. He's sings too, so I practice duets that we sing together when we meet." Blaine is amazed at his sudden ability to come up with lies that kind of make sense. "I'm sorry guys, I'll do better."

"You better." Wes scowls at him. David puts a hand Wes' shoulder and his expression softens.

"What's his name?" Trent asks.

"Yeah! And when do we get to meet him?" Jeff is practically buzzing with excitement.

"His name?" Blaine almost panics again. "It's Kurt." **Wow, great thinking Blaine!** "And we haven't been together for very long, so I don't want you madmen to scare him off!"

Blaine can practically see the excitement melting away from Jeff. "But I promise I'll behave." he whines.

"We aren't that bad." Wes huffs.

Blaine chuckles. "Maybe in a few months, guys."

"Do you have a picture of him?" David asks kindly.

**CRAP! Crap, crap double crap!** "Um… No. I can take one when I meet him next time." **Wait… Will Kurt even be visible in pictures? **

"And when is that?" Trent grabs Jeff's arm as if Blaine is about to tell him something super-important. Jeff just grabs back.

"Well… Since Wes has put in extra rehearsals every Saturday until the Christmas concert, I guess… I could go on Sunday and show you guys the picture in rehearsal on Monday?" **WHAT ARE YOU THINKING, BLAINE?**

"Awesome." Nick says, though he doesn't look even half as excited as Jeff and Trent.

"But guys, he's waiting for me to call him. So I'll see you all in rehearsal tomorrow, okay?" Blaine says uncertainly. The boys move aside and he scurries out of the room as fast as he can.

* * *

><p>"Um… Kurt?" Blaine closes the door behind himself and finds Kurt on the bed.<p>

"Yup?" Kurt looks up from one of Blaine's architecture-books.

"I- um… screwed up." Blaine walks over and sits down beside Kurt's shoulder. He tells Kurt about his talk with the guys.

"You said what?" Kurt snaps the book closed. "We don't even know if I can be in a picture! I'm a ghost, Blaine!"

"I know! But I didn't know what to say! Can't we just try to take a picture?"

Kurt huffs. "Sure! Go on. Then we'll just pretend we're boyfriends and go on a road trip to Columbus!"

"What's wrong with a road trip? It's better than just sitting in here all day, right?" Blaine tries to smile at Kurt, even though the latter is glaring at him.

Kurt closes his eyes and takes a deep breath, letting it out slowly through his nose. "I guess not." he says and opens his eyes again, sitting upright next to Blaine. "I freaked out. Sorry."

"No problem!" Blaine jumps up and takes his phone out of his pocket.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm taking a picture of you." He fiddles with the phone. "Damn, my hands are shaking!" Blaine feels something warm brush his knuckles.

It was Kurt. He sits back and smiles slightly when Blaine raises the phone to take the picture.

"I can't see you trough the camera!" Blaine says breathlessly. "But you're right there!"

"Just take a picture." Kurt says softly.

Blaine presses the button and then goes into the photo album. "You're not there."

"Try the flash." Kurt suggests, looking right into the camera.

Blaine does as Kurt says. When he looks at the picture there are two blue dots in the picture. Or not really dots, more like specks of light. The kind you get when you take an unfocused picture of streetlights or something. "KURT, LOOK!" Blaine holds the phone out and Kurt gasps.

"My eyes!" Kurt says, and Blaine can see Kurt's real eyes starting to fill with tears as he looks at his eyes in the picture. "We have to try again!" Kurt stands. "I wasn't concentrating on being solid. If I do, then maybe it'll work." He clenches his fists and then mumbles something that Blaine doesn't think he was supposed to hear: "I can do this.".

Blaine raises the phone toward Kurt. "Ready?" Kurt nods and looks into the camera. Blaine gets Goosebumps on his arms and neck when he sees the determination in Kurt's eyes, but he still sees nothing when he looks at the phone. He snaps the picture. "Still nothing." Blaine says sadly when he looks at the picture.

"You didn't use the flash! Try again!" Kurt sounds desperate.

Blaine raises the phone again. "Ready?" Kurt nods again. The flash goes off and Blaine goes into the photo album again. His mouth falls open. "Wow…"

"_Did it work?" Kurt squeals and rushes to a frozen Blaine's side. He looks down at the phone in Blaine's shaking hand, and his mouth falls open to. _

_There he is, looking intently into the camera. His hair perfectly styled and glimpses of the bandage on the sides of his head. His cheeks slightly pink, jaw clenched in concentration and yellow cardigan standing out against the dark wall behind him. _

_Kurt starts crying. He grins at Blaine, who drags his eyes away from the phone slowly. He grins back. "It worked, Kurt!"_

_Kurt gets an idea. He runs into Blaine's bathroom and stops in front of the mirror on the wall. There is no one looking back at him. _

_Blaine comes in after him. "What are you doing?"_

"_I thought…" Kurt trails off. _

"_Maybe it's the flash." Blaine almost whispers, as if he's afraid Kurt will think he's crazy._

"_What do you mean?" Kurt turns away from Blaine's reflection to face him in the flesh. _

_Blaine gestures for him to come with him. They sit down close together on the bed. "What I mean is…" Blaine gestures grandly with his hands. "The theory I have come up with during the past minute or so, is that it's because of the flash. You are here. You exist. The light from the flash reflects off of things that exist. Therefore you are captured in the picture. When I didn't use the flash- well, you weren't."_

"_Hmm…" Kurt hums, tapping a finger against his chin. Blaine grins at him. "That sounds reasonable." _

_They are quiet for a while, thinking. _

"_Oh!" Blaine exclaims, dropping his palms onto his knees. "Wes is making us rehearse for the Christmas show every Saturday until the twenty-third, and he said I have been distant lately. So I thought you could come with me. Do you want to?" _

"_I'd love to."_

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued.<strong>

**Author's note:** I hope you all liked this chapter, even though it took a while for me to finish. I will most likely get the next chapter up before Christmas! ^^ Thank you so much for reading! I love you all. Please review? :)


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee, any of their characters or anything that can be related to something that exists in the real word.**

**Warnings:** None, I think.

**Author's notes:** I am a filthy liar! I'm never promising a date for a chapter again, since that doesn't seem to work. I've been busy with a Christmas fiasco, New Years, preparing for my big move, the actual big move (to the other side of my country) and babysitting a sick little sister. I know, excuses excuses... I apologize.  
>Now, on to happier things! I want to express my love for my friend Sophie, who has been a loyal reader of mine since September. This chapter (or any chapter of any of my stories, really...) wouldn't have been what it is without her ideas and critique. She is my soulmate and my muse.<br>Now, on to the chapter! I hope you all like it! ^^

_Italic text is Kurt's experiences._  
>Normal text is Blaine's experiences. <strong><br>_Italic Bold text is Kurt's thoughts._  
>Normal Bold text is Blaine's thoughts.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Nailed Shut<strong>

Chapter 9 

"So… You have a few books about architecture." Kurt says. "Do you want to become an architect?"

"If I can't live off of music, yes." Blaine smiles in return. "What did you want to be?"

"Fashion designer." Kurt looks thoughtfully at the ceiling.

"Ah." Blaine smiles. **Kurt's profile is astoundingly beautiful…** "Maybe you could draw something for me sometime?"

"Sure." Kurt smiles back at him.

* * *

><p>The next day (the day of the Warblers' first Saturday-rehearsal) Blaine walks through the empty hallways with Kurt beside him. Wes had run around the dorm slamming pots and pans together to wake everybody up horribly early that morning. Blaine yawns loudly. "You can just sit on the stool beside the doors to the room while Wes holds his so-called meeting. That way, when we rehearse it'll be like we're performing just for you." He smiles goofily at Kurt and adjusts his glasses on his nose. He didn't bother with contacts and hair gel today. When they enter Dalton's choir room everyone is wearing their regular clothes instead of their uniforms, except for Wes of course. Blaine is glad he isn't the only one wearing flannel pajama pants and a t-shirt. Blaine gestures subtly to the stool by the door and Kurt sits down. Blaine seats himself next to Jeff on one of the couches in the room.<p>

_Wes' meeting is pretty boring, so Kurt zones out and thinks about other things. After a while he snaps back to reality though, when he notices that the otherwise uniform-clad boys arrange themselves for their rehearsal. Blaine is at the front, directing a half-smile in Kurt's direction. Kurt feels his cheeks heat. Then the boys start singing and dancing, and Kurt is completely mesmerized. _

_Blaine stares right at him the whole song, except for when he does a silly spin. Kurt would be happy to just drown in those eyes, that he is convinced are made of liquid gold. The Warblers end their song with their heads bowed and Kurt is distracted by a curl falling onto Blaine's forehead. Wes breaks the boys' formation to point out mistakes made by some members. Kurt realizes that Blaine has looked up and is smiling at him. He applauds and Blaine winks at him. __**Wow, I should not be feeling like this…**_

_The boys do a few more songs. Blaine stares at Kurt during their whole performance and Kurt applauds at the end of every single song. When they're done Wes comments on a few more things that they need to work on for the next rehearsal and tells Blaine "You were a lot less distant today, Blaine. Good job.". All the boys walk out of the room in small groups. Blaine hurries over to Kurt and they head for Blaine's room._

"_You guys were great." Kurt says as they walk down the dorm-room hallway. _

"_Thanks." Blaine says and lets Kurt into the room. "It was a lot of fun to rehearse with an audience." _

"_I'm impressed that you sang all the solos." Kurt sits down on the bed. _

"_Yeah, well… I guess they like my voice." Blaine grins and flops down onto his bed, spreading his arms out like a scarecrow. _

"_You- I mean, it was beautiful. I love the eight-part harmonies." __**You should try thinking before you talk, Kurt! Guh.**_

"_Thank you." Blaine grins at the ceiling._

* * *

><p>On Sunday morning the boys get up early, and Kurt sits down at the desk while Blaine gets ready.<p>

When Blaine comes out of the bathroom he walks over to look what Kurt is doing. He has obviously been practicing being solid, by picking up a pencil and drawing on the open sketchbook on top of the desk.

"That's beautiful." Blaine says, looking at the paper over Kurt's shoulder.

"It's a stick-figure Blaine." Kurt says, turning in the chair to raise an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah. But the lines aren't squiggly and done with little pressure. You've been practicing."

"Yeah, well... There isn't much to do while you are in class, except reading. And I need to practice on being solid." Kurt drops the pencil and stands. "You ready to go?"

"After you." Blaine says and opens the door, Kurt once again raising an eyebrow at him.

* * *

><p>Blaine leads Kurt into Schiller Park in Columbus. They sit down on a bench beside a statue of a woman with an umbrella. No one is close by, so Blaine decides they should take a few pictures. "Picture time!" he announces happily and takes his phone out of his pocket.<p>

"Let's hope it works today too." Kurt sighs and moves closer to Blaine on the bench. **Okay, chill Blaine! You've been closer. Holy hell! We have to look like a couple!**

"Blaine?" Kurt snaps his fingers in front of Blaine's face and Blaine snaps back to reality.

"Right! Let's take one here and one with the statue in the background."

Blaine lifts the phone and smiles at it, and then he feels Kurt's hand on his shoulder and something soft pressing against his cheek. He almost drops the phone. Blaine leans away from Kurt to look at him.

"We have to look like a couple, right?" Kurt says, and it sounds a lot more confident than he looks with a blush creeping onto his cheeks.

"Right. Okay. Again. Concentrate on being solid."

When Kurt puts his hand back on Blaine's shoulder, he can feel the warmth through his coat and cardigan, seeping into his skin. But when Kurt once again presses his cheek lightly to Blaine's, Blaine has to hold back a gasp. When he touched Kurt's face back before the funeral, the warm tingles in his fingers had been pleasant. But this is almost painful in its intensity. His cheek feels like he is leaning it against warm metal, the skin prickling with what feels like small needles of warmth. Blaine takes a deep breath. The cold December air bites the skin of his other cheek, and he decides that Kurt's warmth isn't uncomfortable after all.

He must have zoned out again, because Kurt pulls away. "Are you okay?"

Now that Kurt's warmth is gone, he wants nothing more than to have it back. "You don't feel it?" Blaine asks, shaking his head slightly. Kurt gives him a confused look. "When you do that, it feels like I'm leaning my cheek against a metal door that's been in direct sunlight a whole day in the middle of July."

Kurt's eyes widen. "I- I'm sorry."

"Don't be sorry. It's infinitely better than the cold air. But you don't feel it?"

"No…" Kurt looks thoughtfully at Blaine's cheek, and Blaine blushes. "It's just warm."

"My whole face is tingling." Blaine says very quietly, raising the phone once briefly wonders how it would feel to be chest to chest with Kurt, but snaps out of his inappropriate thoughts when Kurt's cheek is back against his own.

He feels Kurt smile against his cheek; the only thing needed for him to smile too. So he takes a picture, the flash blinding him for a second.

They look at the picture and Kurt chuckles. "Well, we look happy."

**We look in love,** Blaine thinks. But of course he doesn't say that. "We look like a couple." he says instead.

"Mission accomplished." Kurt chirps and gets up to stand next to the statue.

Blaine gets up as well, standing beside Kurt and hoping he'll press their cheeks together again. This time though, Kurt puts an arm around Blaine's waist, resting his hand on Blaine's hip. Blaine struggles to breathe properly. He can feel the warmth of Kurt's hand soak through his clothes and into his skin, creeping up toward his ribcage and across his stomach. Then Kurt presses his cheek against Blaine's air-bitten one and Blaine sighs softly. Blaine lifts the phone and just as he is about to snap another picture he feels Kurt turn his head and nuzzle his nose against Blaine's temple. Blaine presses the button in pure shock, his cheeks flaming red.

"Lemme see!" Kurt chirps and pulls away. "You look so embarrassed!" he chuckles. "I'm great at this."

"I wasn't expecting that." Blaine mumbles and puts the phone back in his pocket.

"You should eat something." Kurt states and starts walking out of the park.

* * *

><p>The next day after Warblers practice Wes snatches the phone from Blaine and states "He's handsome.".<p>

"Handsome? He's gorgeous!" Trent exclaims, gesturing to the phone with both hands.

"He's so pretty it makes me want to cry!" Jeff sighs and leans his head against Wes' shoulder. Nick – who is sitting beside him on the couch – elbows him lightly in the ribs. "But nowhere near you." Jeff mumbles and pats the top of Nick's head, making the latter roll his eyes.

The Warblers snatch Blaine's phone from each other until everybody has seen the picture at least three times. David hands the phone back to Blaine. "We're all happy for you." he says, the rest of the group nodding eagerly.

"Thank you guys. But actually, there's more." Blaine flips to the picture of him and Kurt in front if the statue, and hands the phone to Jeff who is sitting in the middle of the bunch of blazer-clad boys.

There is a collective "aaawww" from the boys and Jeff squeaks. "You two are adorable! You look so in love!"

"Wait…" Thad begins, leaning over the back of the couch to get a closer look at the picture. "Why isn't he wearing a jacket?"

"Hah! Well…" Blaine laughs nervously. **How are you going to explain this?** "He is a fashion-freak and his new coat was at the drycleaner's so he had to wear one that didn't match the rest of his outfit. So he took it off for the pictures, since I told him I'd show them to my friends." **Well, they're never going to believe that, you idiot! **

"Ooo! Smart move. I'd have done the same." Trent states, lifting his chin a bit higher into the air and brushing off the front of his blazer. A few of the boys nod approvingly and the rest roll their eyes.

"I can't wait to meet him!" Jeff says excitedly, clutching Blaine's phone to his chest.

"Yeah, me too." Wes says, earning a few odd glances from his friends. "I need to inspect him to see if he's good enough for you."

"That's a bit rude, Wesley." Nick says.

"You know I have a routine, Nicholas." Wes snaps back.

"Well, I've got to go. I promised I'd call him tonight. Later, guys." Blaine says before wrestling the phone from Jeff and leaving the room.

* * *

><p>When Kurt and Blaine are walking back to Blaine's room after lunch the next Monday Kurt suddenly stops in the middle of their conversation about their favorite fruits.<p>

"Kurt?" Blaine asks, stopping as well.

"I want to talk to my mother." he says, staring with unfocused eyes past Blaine.

"What?" Blaine takes a step closer.

"Please?" Kurt turns his head slowly to meet Blaine's eyes. "Can we go to my house and talk to her?"

"But you can't see her?"

"I thought…" Kurt blushes, twisting his hands together. "Maybe you could… Um… Translate?"

"Oh… Oh! Yeah, sure!" Blaine grins at Kurt, waving his hand so he will continue walking with him toward the dorms. "When do you want to go?"

"Could we go right now? It's Monday, so you don't have any more classes today. Both dad and Carole are at work and Finn is at school."

"Yeah, sure. I'll just get my coat and then we can go.

* * *

><p>"Nobody's home." Kurt states when Blaine parks his car on the curb outside the house.<p>

"How are we going to get in? And do you think she is even in there?"

"Dad probably has the key in the same place that he always did when I was alive. And I doubt she'll follow him to work every day." Kurt says and steps out of the car, through the door.

Blaine hasn't seen him do that before, so he is stunned still in his seat. He snaps back to reality when Kurt raps his knuckles on the driver side window. He steps out of the car and apologizes to Kurt. They walk up to the house, and Kurt points to the lamp on the wall beside the door. Blaine reaches for it, but he's too short even when he stands on the tips of his toes. Kurt pokes him in the ribs. "I'll do it. I am taller than you."

"Am not!" Blaine pouts as Kurt gets the key down from the lamp.

He hands it to Blaine who sticks it in the lock. "Are you ready?" Kurt just nods, so Blaine opens the door and walks in. He pockets the key and takes his shoes an coat off before walking into the living room, Kurt right behind him. "Anette? Are you here?" Blaine calls out and looks around.

"Hello boys!" Anette chirps from behind them.

Blaine turns on his heel and Kurt looks at him in confusion for a second before realizing what's happening. He turns around too, looking around even though his mother is right in front of him.

"Hello. We came to talk to you." Blaine tells the beautiful woman. "Kurt wants me to translate for him."

"Oh, that's wonderful!" she replies, suddenly disappearing. "Come sit."

Blaine turns around again, to find Kurt's mother sitting on the sofa. "Come on, Kurt." he says and sits down in an armchair, pointing for Kurt to sit on the couch next to his mother.

"_Hi mom." Kurt says, widening his eyes at Blaine, hoping he'll get the hint and enlighten him on where his mother is sitting. _

"_Hi mom." Blaine repeats, twitching his hand in what must be Anette Hummel's direction. _

"_She can hear me, Blaine." Kurt points out, turning his head toward where Blaine is pointing. _

_Blaine blushes furiously. "Sorry. I'll pretend I'm not here and just repeat what you say." he says, looking to Kurt's right. "Hi honey." he says then, avoiding eye contact with Kurt and the blush spreading all the way down his neck._

_Kurt closes his eyes and imagines his mother sitting beside him on the sofa. "Why did you come to my funeral?" _

"_How could I not? I've been here since I died. I've watched you grow from a cute little boy to a strong young man. I've been there for you all along, so how could I not be with you then?" Blaine says, repeating Anette's words. "Though watching my own child's body being lowered into the ground is the worst thing I have experienced in both my life and my afterlife."_

"_But you saw me there, didn't you?"_

"_I did. It made it bearable. And I saw you had support with you. You weren't alone." _

_Kurt decides to watch Blaine and opens his eyes. The curly-headed boy is smiling softly at the space where Anette's spirit is. "How did you meet this young man?"_

"_When I woke up like this I was at Dalton, Blaine's school. I walked around for a week, trying to find someone who could hear or see me. And finally someone did." Kurt smiles at Blaine, who still isn't meeting his eyes. _

_Kurt sees Blaine's body twitch, before he blushes again. "I won't tell him that!" Blaine half whispers, half whines._

"_Tell me what?" Kurt questions, squinting his eyes at Blaine. _

"_Nothing." He shakes his head slightly and then looks back to the space beside Kurt. "You look just like you did whenever Burt tried to convince you to go camping." He giggles._

"_Mom!" Kurt whines, but smiles, knowing she had been there to see that. "Blaine." Kurt uses his supposed-to-be most threatening voice. "Tell me."_

"_Nope." Blaine chirps. "You are so stubborn, Kurt."_

"_Is that you or my mom talking?"_

"_Oh, I wouldn't dare saying something like that to you." Blaine lets out a huff of laughter. _

"_Dad always said I got my stubbornness from you, mom." _

"_Perhaps. But he can be plenty stubborn as well. The stubbornness-contests you two would have over food and your outfits." Blaine giggles again. "And oh, how I've loved your outfits, darling."_

"_Maybe this was a bad idea…" Kurt mumbles too himself. _

"_I'm sorry for embarrassing you, honey." Blaine says, moving his eyes from Anette to Kurt. "What did you boys come to talk to me about?"_

"_We told dad that I'm here." Kurt rubs his right thumb against his right palm as he continues. "So I wanted to ask you if… Should we tell him that you're here too?" Kurt looks up from his knees to find Blaine looking at him. That's all he needs to continue. "He'd be so happy." Blaine's eyes are watering over, and Kurt can feel his own do the same. _

"_I'm sure he would." Blaine croaks, before clearing his throat to continue repeating Anette's words. "But he has struggled getting over me for years and we can never have what we once did. And from what I've seen of Carole and Finn, they are amazing people. Your father loves them, he's happy now. Telling your father that I'm here wouldn't make anything better."_

"_But you talked to us." Kurt gestures to himself and Blaine, the latter starting to grin. _

_Blaine is quiet for a while. "Oh! Sorry. Zoned out." Blaine continues to grin at Kurt. "I talked to you because you and I, Kurt, we can have a relationship. If that is something you want. It was selfish of me to let you know I'm here, I should have waited until you looked for me or until you could see me yourself."_

"_No mom, I'm so very glad you did." Kurt turns to his right, folding one of his legs under himself. "Dad has said many times that sometimes it feels like you're with us. And you were! I've wished and dreamed that one day I'd be able to see or talk to you again. And now I can." _

Blaine watches as Kurt closes his eyes, folding his hands on his lap. And then Kurt starts to sing, leaving Blaine in mild shock.

"_Blackbird singing in the dead of night, take these broken wings and learn to fly. All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to arise…"_ Kurt sings, eyes still closed as Anette leans toward him.

**Wow… **Blaine adjusts his position in the armchair, staring at Kurt as he opens his watery eyes.

"_Blackbird singing in the dead of night, take these sunken eyes and learn to see. All your life, you were only waiting for this moment to be free…" _Anette lifts her hand toward Kurt, stilling it a fraction of space from his face and holding it there as if she was caressing his cheek.

**Kurt's voice is absolutely beautiful. Just like his hair. And his skin. And his lips. And those eyes! **The corner of Blaine's mouth moves into the slightest of smiles.

"_Blackbird fly. Blackbird fly. Into the light of the dark black night." _Kurt's tears are falling freely now, and so are Anette's.

**He's gorgeous even when he cries. There's something tragically beautiful about it… Those eyes look even more blue like this.** Blaine misses the last part of the song, as he almost drowns in Kurt's ocean eyes. **I'm in love with Kurt.**

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued.<strong>

**Author's notes:** I guess the "cliffhanger" in the end isn't really a surprise to any of you. I chose to have "Blackbird" here since the whole canon Kurt-at-Dalton-thing never happened in this story, and it felt like a good moment for Blaine to realize his feelings. ^^  
>I hope you all liked this chapter, even though it took me a LONG TIME to finish.<br>Thank you so much for reading! I love you all. Please review? :)


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Glee, any of their characters or anything that can be related to something that exists in the real word.

**Warnings:** None, I think.

**Author's notes:** This chapter took a lot less time to finish than I thought! I've been in a super-awesome writing mood lately, even enjoying writing all the fluff. I hope it continues. But now, on to the chapter! I hope you all like it! ^^

_Italic text is Kurt's experiences._  
>Normal text is Blaine's experiences.<br>**_Italic Bold text is Kurt's thoughts._**  
><strong>Normal Bold text is Blaine's thoughts.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Nailed Shut<strong>

Chapter 10

**Oh lord, I'm in love with Kurt!**

"_I remember you singing that to me when I was little." Kurt says to the air in front of him. _

"_Kurt." Blaine says very seriously, looking straight at him. Kurt assumes it isn't his mother talking at the moment. "Concentrate on being solid for a moment, okay?" He turns to Kurt's mother and nods._

_Kurt concentrates on being solid. But he doesn't have time to wonder why Blaine asked him to, because he understands the moment something warm brushes against his cheek. He wants to close his eyes in contentment, but he forces them open as far as they'll go. Because if he can feel his mother's hand on his cheek then he might be able to see her too. The warm brushing of her fingers goes away, and is replaced with what feels like a whole hand. _

_Now Kurt understands what Blaine was talking about in Columbus. The skin of his cheek prickles with heat. He can feel the tips of his mother's fingers burying themselves in the hair above his ear, and he can't help it when his eyes fall shut. A dry sob escapes him as he feels her thumb stroke the side of his nose and across the thin skin below his eye. _

"_You are so beautiful, baby boy." Blaine whispers hoarsely, repeating what must be Kurt's mother's words._

"_I got it all from you." Kurt whispers back, reaching his own hand up to touch his mother's. _

_But she pulls away. The incredibly warm but not-at-all unpleasant feeling of her hand is gone. "Time is fleeting, love. Daddy is on his way home."_

"_We should go." Blaine then says. _

_Kurt sighs heavily and opens his eyes. "Okay." _

"This was lovely." Anette says as Kurt and Blaine stands. "I hope you'll come talk to me again."

Blaine repeats for Kurt, who replies "Of course.".

"Hopefully my grandmother can help Kurt, so he can see you too." Blaine says, walking to the front door and opening it. "We'll see you later." He smiles, waiting for Kurt to follow him out.

"Bye mom." Kurt says sadly, walking past Blaine.

"See you later, baby." Anette says, and Blaine repeats it for Kurt before shutting and locking the door behind them.

Blaine tries to put the key back on the lamp, but his efforts are interrupted by a soft chuckle from Kurt. "I'll do it." he says and holds his hand out toward Blaine.

Blaine hands the key over with an exaggerated eye-roll and sigh, earning him another chuckle from Kurt. **Anette must have been right… **When the key is back in its right place the two boys walk to the car and get in. But Blaine doesn't start the car. "Are you okay?" he asks softly, turning - more than needed - in his seat to look at Kurt.

"I am."

Blaine smiles and starts the car. They are barely out of Lima when Kurt whines. "Why won't you just tell me?"

"Tell you what?" Blaine responds before he realizes what Kurt's talking about.

"What my mother said that you couldn't tell me! The thing that made you twitch and blush." Blaine dares to take a glance at Kurt, but quickly looks back when he finds him wearing what other people might call a "bitch-face".

Blaine blushes again, just thinking about what she had said. "I'll tell you later." he says and pretends not to hear Kurt's snort and annoyed huff.

* * *

><p><em>That Friday (December 16<em>_th__) Kurt has been waiting for Blaine to get back from Warblers practice for more than half an hour, so he decides to head out and look for him. He starts searching in the room where practice is usually held, but no sign of Blaine. Kurt wanders toward the library, but when he reaches the stairs something unknown steers him in the opposite direction. After a minute of walking he starts to hear the faint playing of a piano. He follows it and reaches a closed door, where the music is coming from. Kurt creaks the door open and peeks in, to find Blaine sitting on the piano bench playing by himself. Kurt sneaks into the room and closes the door behind him. _

_Blaine looks up when the door clicks shut. "Hi Kurt." he says as he stops playing._

"_You didn't come back after rehearsal." Kurt walks over and sits beside Blaine on the bench, facing the door. _

"_I felt like playing, and I needed to think." Blaine pushes down a set of keys, the noise filling the room. _

"_Should I leave you?" _

"_No, no. Stay." Blaine smiles, starting to play a happy melody._

"_I didn't know you play piano." Kurt states._

"_Well, I do." Blaine says and grins goofily at Kurt._

"_I do too, actually." _

_Blaine stops playing. "Play for me." He folds his hands on his lap, clearly waiting for Kurt to play. _

_So Kurt does. He has to concentrate really hard, and he feels slightly dizzy when he's played the song all the way through. _

"_You're good. How long have you played?" Blaine asks happily._

_Kurt takes a deep breath and instantly feels better. "My mother used to play for me when I was little. I started lessons when I was six. I played for a few years. It was a while since last time though." _

"_Why'd you stop?" Blaine cocks his head to the side, and Kurt's stomach does a tiny flip._

"_It reminded me so much of my mom. I still played sometimes, but rarely." Kurt sighs. "I love it though." _

"_We can come in here and play as often as you like." Blaine smiles. They are both silent for a while, none of them playing the piano. "Do you want to know what your mother said?" Blaine whispers, looking at his hands._

"_Yes!" Kurt says hurriedly, but not unkindly._

"_She said that she thought you were meant find me." Blaine whispers even more quietly, his blush darkening. _

"_Oh…" __**I was meant to find Blaine? What's that supposed to mean? **__Kurt studies Blaine's face for a moment, stopping to stare at a loose curl in his hair. __**Maybe I was supposed to find him…**_

_None of them speak for a short while, until Blaine stands. He's smiling shyly. "I'm hungry. Let's go get me dinner, that I can bring to my room." _

_Kurt smiles back and stands as well, following Blaine to the dining hall._

* * *

><p>On the day of the Christmas-concert Blaine is standing backstage, fixing his tie in the mirror a final time before the performance. All the other Warblers are standing ready by the side of the stage. Kurt puts a hand on Blaine's shoulder, the now familiar warmth seeping into Blaine's skin. "You're going to be great." He smiles at Blaine through the reflection, and Blaine just want to turn around and kiss him. He nods, lowering his shaking hands from his tie.<p>

"Well, I'm gonna go into the audience and watch. Good luck."

"No!" Blaine exclaims, a few of his Warbler-friends turning their heads in his direction. They just sigh, shake their heads and look away. "Please come on stage with me." Blaine whispers, begging with his eyes.

"Why?" Kurt asks, his eyebrows moving up his forehead and his head tilting to the side. Blaine has the urge to kiss him for the umpteenth time this week. Blaine tries to smile, but can see his creepy expression in the mirror, so he stops. "Are you nervous, Blaine?" Kurt chuckles, but when Blaine continues to look somewhat forlorn, Kurt looks a bit concerned. "You don't need to be nervous. You're amazing, Blaine." Blaine smiles slightly at him and then looks at the floor. "Of course I'll come with you."

"Blaine! Get over here! We're about to start." Wes calls for him.

"Thank you!" Blaine whispers and turns toward his living friends. "We're just doing Christmas-songs, so we're not gonna jump around a lot. You can stand beside me if you want." he whispers before standing in the back of the line.

The music starts and the Warblers walk onto the stage, taking their positions and starting their harmonies. Blaine is last to appear on stage, placing himself up front.

_Kurt follows and stands at arm's length from him, watching as he sings. Kurt is mesmerized by the sight. All the nerves Blaine had backstage were left there. He looks so confident like this; like he can do anything. __**Wow…**__ Kurt absolutely loves it when Blaine sings, even when he does his silly spins and faces. __**If only he'd quit the hair-gel… **__Blaine's skin looks like caramel under the stage lights and Kurt briefly wonders what it would taste like. The Warblers are on their fourth song by now, and Blaine retreats into the formation of boys behind him. Kurt turns his back to the audience to look at him. Blaine smiles a huge goofy grin right at him, before dropping it and looking back into the audience for the final lines of the song. Kurt doesn't notice David glancing questioningly in his direction. As the final song starts, Kurt doesn't see the other Warblers, he just smiles at the twinkle Blaine gets in his eyes as he sings in harmony with the other boys. __**He has been so unbelievably nice to me since I came here.**__ The stage lights go out and the boys walk off stage as the audience claps enthusiastically. __**I'm in love with Blaine.**_

* * *

><p>After the usual bantering, pats on backs and critique from Wes; the group splits up to talk to their families in the crowd of parents and teachers. Blaine walks up to Kurt who is smiling unusually happily at him. "What did you think?" he asks, blushing slightly and looking at Kurt's elbow.<p>

"You were really great. You look so confident on stage."

"I feel confident up there." Blaine smiles, looking back up at Kurt.

"BLAINEY!" comes a shriek from the doorway and Blaine looks over to see Aimee running toward him, her pigtails bouncing.

"Hi baby!" Blaine exclaims, crouching down to catch her in a hug. He stands up and rocks her from side to side, a hand on the back of her head. "You came!"

"Char brought me." Aimee explains, leaning back to look at Blaine and point at Charles the butler, who walks through the backstage door.

"Hello Charles." Blaine says. "Did she run away from you?" He chuckles a little, putting Aimee back on the floor.

"Well, Sir Blaine, she's a quick one. Also I'm not in the best shape of my life." Charles responds in his British accent.

Aimee giggles and turns toward Kurt. "Hi Kurt!" she chirps, holding her arms out for a hug.

"Hi honey." Kurt smiles, bending down to hug her while casting a hesitant glance at Charles, who just quirks an eyebrow.

Blaine shuffles on his feet. "So did you like the show, baby?" he asks, looking from Kurt to Charles to Aimee.

"Yeah! It was asu- aws- a-"

"Awesome?" Kurt suggests, grinning at the little girl.

"Yeah! Awesome! You sing way better than all those other boys." she says with finality, grabbing onto Blaine's index finger. "And you were so pretty up there in the lights, Kurt!" she beams at the cardigan-clad boy.

"Thank you, honey." Kurt replies, petting the top of her head.

"Well, Lady Aimee. I think we should get going." Charles says, smiling apologetically at her.

"I don't wanna!" she whines, grabbing onto Blaine's pinky with her other hand and nuzzling her cheek against the back of his hand.

"Your bedtime was an hour ago." Blaine points out, wriggling his fingers out of her grasp and picking her up. "You don't want to be tired for Christmas, do you?" He tickles her neck and she squirms.

"Okay, okay!" she giggles and flings her arms around his neck. "Love you Blainey." she whispers into his shoulder.

"I love you too, baby girl." he whispers back, kissing her forehead before setting her back on the floor.

She skips over to Charles and grabs his out held hand. "Bye Blainey! Bye Kurt!" she chirps.

"Sir Blaine." Charles nods and they turn toward the door.

"Bye!" Blaine waves after them.

When they are out of sight Blaine spins around to look at Kurt. "I've got something to show you!"

* * *

><p>"<em>Where are we goooiiing?" Kurt whines in the dark car. <em>

"_I've told you a hundred times, it's a surprise!" Blaine replies, grinning but keeping his eyes on the road. _

"_But you brought a bag. With your everyday-stuff, and clothes. Which should mean we're staying for a while. Is it a hotel?"_

"_Kurt."_

"_Blaine."_

_Neither speaks for a few minutes as they pass a few houses decorated with lights. _

_Blaine slows the car down and turns into a dark driveway a few minutes after the decorated houses have disappeared behind them, and everything is swallowed by the dark. _

"_What is this place?" Kurt whispers, inching away from the car door as Blaine turns the car off._

"_Don't worry. I haven't kidnapped you." Blaine chuckles and steps out of the car._

_**You're dead Kurt. Being scared of the dark is silly. **__Kurt gets out as well, standing by the hood of the car while Blaine gets his bag from the backseat. "Follow me." he singsongs and leads Kurt to the door of a small, yellow house. He stops with the key in the lock and looks at Kurt. "This is my house."_

"_You have your own HOUSE?" Kurt exclaims. "Are you serious?"_

_Blaine chuckles. "It used to be the Anderson summer-house when I was a child. But I had to go somewhere when Dalton had breaks, so Wyland and Monica arranged for me to live here." He unlocks the door and pockets his key. "In a few months, when I turn eighteen, the house will be written in my name."_

"_Oh." Kurt says. "Wow." __**That's very articulate, you idiot! **__"I'm sorry."_

"_Don't worry. I love it here." Blaine smiles. "And I've hired Charles' son John to come here two times a week to water the plants and take the mail in." _

"_Just open the door!" Kurt whines. "I want to see it!" _

_Blaine chuckles again, opens the door and steps inside. Kurt follows and stands on the wooden floor as Blaine dumps his bag next to the shoe-rack. He hangs his coat up on one of the hooks above it and steps out of his shoes. On either side of the front door are small tables, one with a stack of mail on it. Beside that table is a door which Blaine opens and gestures for Kurt to go inside. Inside the door, to the right is a bathtub, and behind the door stands a potted plant. There is of course a toilet and a sink, with a big beautiful mirror above it. Beside that there are two cabinets, under the big window. The tile of the floor and walls is a pleasant sand color. "Nice." Kurt comments before stepping back out into the hallway. Blaine leads him down the hallway - which ends with a small window - and through an arch into the kitchen. The floor has white tile, the walls a fancy white and silver wallpaper and there are four big windows. The cabinets along the far wall are white with light marble countertops, and there is a dishwasher and a coffee-machine. __**Of course.**__ Kurt chuckles to himself. There is also a table with four white chairs, a potted plant in the corner and a grandfather-clock. They walk back into the hallway and into a room beside the kitchen. Blaine's bedroom floor is covered in gray carpet and the wallpaper is purple with wide horizontal stripes in lighter shades. Kurt walks straight into the room, sitting down on the desk chair. He looks around while Blaine sits down in a black-and-gray-striped armchair. The bed is placed against the far wall, with metal and glass nightstands on both sides. One of them has an alarm clock atop it, and there is an easel with an empty canvas beside it. Beside the bed is a dresser and another potted plant. Between the dresser and the desk Kurt is sitting at, is a bookcase. There are four windows in this room too, and a big picture of New York City hangs above the bed. __**New York**__… Kurt stands and sighs. _

"_Let me show you the most fun room." Blaine says, standing and leading Kurt back into the hallway and into the living room. _

_There are three big windows and both the floor and walls are light wood. Right inside the door is a huge entertainment-center and beside that a TV, pointed toward the armchair in the corner. The other corner has a Christmas-tree in it. "It's not decorated." Kurt point out, sitting on the wooden coffee table in front of the black leather sofa. _

"_I thought we could decorate the tree and the house tomorrow." Blaine smiles, sitting down beside him. "If you want to?"_

"_Yeah." Kurt says breathlessly, looking at the gorgeous, enormous tree. "But you should know I take decorating very seriously." He looks at Blaine, who just chuckles._

"_I thought you might." He stands, throwing his arms out. "So, yeah. This is my house." __**Beautiful dork.**_

* * *

><p>"Decoration time!" Blaine cheers and wraps a glittery garland around his neck.<p>

Kurt groans but stands from his sleeping-place in the armchair.

"I started without you, sleepy head!" Blaine exclaims, rushing into the kitchen.

Kurt follows slowly, but perks up at the sight of the kitchen. There are decorations spread out nicely in the whole room. "Pretty good, Anderson." he says and smiles at Blaine, who is bouncing slightly on his feet.

"I put our stockings on the wall in the hallway, since I don't have a fireplace." Blaine rushes out of the kitchen and points at them.

Kurt follows, and moves past him to brush his fingers against the big K on the white and silver stocking. "I get one?" he says hesitantly, looking back at Blaine.

"Of course you do." He says with a funny face, and continues into the living room.

Kurt joins him after a minute. There is a big box full of tree decorations on the floor beside the armchair, and Blaine watches as Kurt eagerly digs through it. "Where was this box yesterday?" he asks, throwing glitter garlands over his shoulder.

"In the trunk of my car."

"Aha." Kurt continues to dig through the box. "What color scheme do you want?" he asks, straightening with a plastic tube of colored baubles in each hand.

"You decide!" Blaine exclaims, unwrapping the garland from around his neck.

"Then we'll go with a classy white and gold." Kurt decides, placing one of the tubes back in the box.

They spend a couple of hours decorating the tree. Blaine putting stuff on the tree, and Kurt protesting. Blaine moving stuff to where he thinks Kurt means, and Kurt giving up and just replacing everything himself while Blaine sings Christmas carols. After a while he joins in.

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued.<strong>

**Author's notes:** Oh, yay! Kurt is in love with Blaine too! ^^ And more fluffy Christmas stuff coming up! I hope you all liked this chapter.  
>Thank you so much for reading! I love you all. Please review! :)<p> 


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Glee, any of their characters or anything that can be related to something that exists in the real word.

**Warnings:** None, I think.

**Author's notes:** **IMPORTANT: I changed my penname from "LivingForMi" to "yourrecordsallilistento" today****.** Just so there is no confusion. It's now the same as my Tumblr url. ^^  
>So, this chapter took a lot longer to finish than I had intended. As I told you last chapter; I've been in a super-awesome writing mood lately, BUT I got so inspired that I started another story (Apple Shampoo). I know, I know, BAD AUTHOR! *shame* But I am not letting this story go! It's my baby. But it might take a bit longer between updates. I don't want to rush either story, 'cause then it wont be as good. I hope you all understand and wont kill me. *hides under bed*<br>Enough of that. Now, on to the chapter! I hope you all like it! ^^

_Italic text is Kurt's experiences._  
>Normal text is Blaine's experiences.<br>**_Italic Bold text is Kurt's thoughts._**  
><strong>Normal Bold text is Blaine's thoughts.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Nailed Shut<strong>

Chapter 11

When they finish their duet of "Baby, It's Cold Outside" - which they both blush their way through - the tree is done, and both stand back to admire their work. "It's gorgeous, Kurt." **Just like you…**

"Thank you!" he beams. "We did well."

Darkness has started to fall outside, and suddenly the doorbell rings. Kurt follows Blaine to the door.

"Merry Christmas, Sir Blaine!" The Andersons' butler Charles McAbbott III is standing on the front porch holding a tray with a big, cupped, silver lid on it. Behind him are three more men - one of them quite young - also holding trays. "Dinner is here." Charles announces.

"Come in." Blaine says, leading the men into the kitchen.

They deposit the trays on the counter and then go back out to the car to get a few more. Charles sets the table and then gestures for the other men to wait for him in the car.

"_I hope I didn't kill your plants." the young guy – who must be Charles' son – says and winks at Blaine. Winks! __**Bastard. **__He leaves and Charles pats Blaine's shoulder._

"_Merry Christmas, Sir Blaine. I'll bring Aimee over tomorrow afternoon."_

"_Thank you, Charles. Merry Christmas."_

_Blaine closes the door behind Charles and turns around to find Kurt frowning. He takes a step closer. "What?"_

"_Nothing." Kurt says and goes into the kitchen. He hears Blaine following, so he sits down on a chair by the table and stares at all the food. "Wow. This looks delicious."_

"_I'm sorry that you can't have any." Blaine says sadly and sits down opposite to Kurt. _

"_Meh." Kurt shrugs. "I can still smell it."_

"_Always the optimist." Blaine grins and lifts the lid off of a tray._

"_You should eat now. You skipped lunch."_

"_As you wish, sir." Blaine gets a plate, some cutlery and a glass before sitting back down at the table and starting to serve himself food. _

"_So who was the guy that was flirting with you?" Kurt asks as nonchalantly as possible. _

_Blaine coughs and hits himself in the chest with his fist a couple of times. "What?" he rasps. "John?"_

"_Is he Charles' son?"_

"_Yes. Why?"_

"_Just curious." Kurt smiles , this time going for innocent. "Don't forget to eat."_

_Blaine looks thoroughly confused, but continues to eat his Christmas dinner._

* * *

><p>"<em>Was he really flirting with me?" Blaine asks suddenly during his dessert.<em>

"_He winked." Kurt says and arches an eyebrow at Blaine. "What did you think that meant?"_

"_I-" Blaine begins, looking adorably clueless. "I don't know. I didn't really think about it, since I'm not interested."_

"_Oh." Kurt says, looking at the plate in front of Blaine. __**YES!**__ "So, how's the dessert?"_

_Blaine instantly perks up. "Delish."_

"_Delish?"_

"_Yes... It's short for delicious." Blaine says like it's the most natural thing in the world. _

"You are insane." Kurt declares, but smiles. Blaine grins back and they are both quiet for a moment as Blaine munches on his dessert. "I didn't think you would get to celebrate Christmas with Aimee tomorrow. Isn't she celebrating with your parents?"

"When I was a kid Wyland and Monica started this tradition that we eat Christmas-dinner on the evening of the twenty-fifth. Of course I'd get to open my gifts when I woke up, but then nothing special happened during the whole day. So since I've been… At Dalton I have had Aimee during the day, after she opens her gifts from them in the morning and before they eat dinner in the evening. Does that make sense?"

"I guess." Kurt says, scratching the side of his nose.

Blaine swallows the last of his dessert, puts away the dishes and starts to put all the food away. Kurt helps as much as he can, but he is exhausted from being solid during the whole decorating-process during the day. He is barely conscious, Blaine notices, when Kurt drops a fork without acknowledging he did so. He just stands, looking lazily at the silverware-drawer. Blaine picks up the fork Kurt dropped and puts it in the dishwasher, before trying to get Kurt into the bedroom.

"Kurt?" he whispers, standing in front of him. "Let's get you to bed." Blaine tries to grab Kurt's hand, but he isn't solid at the moment, so Blaine's hand goes straight through. "Kurt! Look at me."

Kurt seems to register that Blaine is talking to him, because he focuses his vision on Blaine's face. "Blaine." he whispers.

"Come on, Kurt. We're going to bed." He reaches his hand out toward him, and Kurt grabs it and follows him into the bedroom.

Kurt falls backwards onto the bed, lying on his side and resting his face on the back of his hand. "Blaine."

"Yes, Kurt?"

"Blaine." Kurt sighs and then his eyes are closed, and he is gone.

Blaine smiles to himself. "Goodnight, Kurt." **He wore himself out. Poor thing. **

Blaine goes back into the kitchen and finishes the dishes before getting into his pajamas and putting his glasses on. He grabs his favorite novel from the bookcase and settles down on the bed beside Kurt. He starts to read quietly, not wanting to wake Kurt, but still wanting him to hear his voice. He looks at Kurt's sleeping form when turning pages, smiling and sometimes forgetting about the book.

* * *

><p>Blaine wakes when coldness spreads through his face. He jolts into a sitting position, finding that Kurt has turned, flopping his hand through Blaine's head. He rubs his cheek and realizes he fell asleep with his glasses on and his book open on his stomach. He removes the glasses and rubs his eyes. His face doesn't feel cold anymore, and his side is all warm. Kurt is lying on his side, facing Blaine. One hand on Blaine's pillow and the other one clenched. Blaine wonders briefly if Kurt had been snuggled up to him during the night, before he realizes something. <strong>It's Christmas morning!<strong> He looks at the clock. **Good timing! **Blaine gets carefully out of bed and sneaks across the bedroom floor in his socks and steps into a pair of boots when he reaches the hallway. He creaks the front door open slowly, grabbing his jacket to put on outside. He closes the door just as quietly again and walks down the driveway, looking down the road and putting on his jacket.

After a few minutes a big truck pulls up outside the house and Blaine tells the men to be very quiet while they work. Blaine goes back into the house and gets an envelope out of his desk drawer, sitting down carefully beside Kurt on the bed. After another minute Charles walks into the bedroom, setting a vase down on one of the nightstands.

"Thank you, Charles." Blaine whispers.

Charles looks skeptically at him before shaking his head slightly and whispering back. "Merry Christmas, Sir Blaine." He leaves, and after some jingling in the hallway Blaine hears the front door shut again.

"Kurt!" Blaine whispers. "Wake up! I've got something for you." Kurt clenches the fabric of Blaine's pajama leg and sighs contently. Blaine feels like he's melting. "Kuuuuurt? Wake up."

Kurt twitches and gasps, sitting up. "What happened?"

Blaine smiles reassuringly. "You were kinda out of it last night, but I managed to get you into bed. And now it's Christmas morning!"

"I'm sorry. I-"

"Stop it." Blaine points at Kurt. "I got you something." He holds the envelope out toward him. "Open it."

"Blaine!" Kurt whines. "You shouldn't have bought me something! It's a waste. I'm dead."

"It's not a waste if it makes you happy. Now open! I think you're gonna like it." He grins and makes Kurt take it.

Kurt studies the envelope for a second and then smiles at the squiggly message on the front. "Merry Christmas, Kurt. Love, Blaine." he reads out loud and looks up to meet Blaine's eyes. "Thank you, Blaine."

While Kurt opens the envelope Blaine moves to sit on his legs, waiting excitedly for Kurt's reaction.

"Oh my God, Blaine!" Kurt shrieks. "Concert tickets? To Lady Gaga! How did you know I like her?"

"You always sing along to her songs when we listen to the radio." Blaine grins.

"This is way too much, Blaine."

"It's not." Blaine says, closing Kurt's hands over the tickets.

"But I don't need a ticket. People can't see me."

"No. But you can keep it as a memory after the concert." Blaine smiles.

"You're using the extra ticket." Kurt states with finality.

Blaine chuckles. "I thought you might say that. That's why I bought two."

Kurt looks at the tickets again, before putting them back in the envelope. "Thank you."

"I got you something else!" Blaine says excitedly, practically jumping off of the bed. "Follow me!" Blaine rushes out of the bedroom and Kurt gets up to follow.

_He walks into the hallway and stops. "Blaine!" he calls out. "Why is the Christmas tree in the end of the hallway? And how did it get ther- OH WOW!" Kurt walks into the living room to find a shiny, black upright piano standing where the tree had been the day before. "How did that GET in here? And when?" Kurt gapes at the beautiful sight. _

"_Charles and his men brought it in this morning. Isn't it pretty?" Blaine says, sitting down on the coffee table. He crosses his legs and leans on his hands. _

_Kurt walks closer, dragging his fingers along the wooden top. "It's beautiful." he breathes before turning on Blaine. "Why did you buy a piano?" _

"_Merry Christmas, Kurt." Blaine smiles and gestures to the piano with both hands. _

"_ARE YOU INSANE?" Kurt's voice goes so high pitch that Blaine winces. "You bought a dead guy you've known for two months a PIANO?"_

"_Yes?"_

"_Why?" _

"_You said you used to love playing. So I thought you might start again if you had your own…"_

_Blaine looks kind of wounded, so Kurt sits down on the bench and pushes down a few keys. The piano sounds loud and clear in the room and Kurt has to close his eyes. "Thank you, Blaine." _

"_You're very welcome." Blaine gets up to stand beside the piano. "This actually leads to the next-"_

"_Don't tell me you bought me something more?" Kurt turns to glare at Blaine. _

"_Not exactly." Blaine says, smiling ever so slightly. "I thought we could visit my grandmother in a couple of days and see if she can help you see your mom."_

"_Oh." Kurt hadn't thought about Blaine's grandmother for weeks. "I'd love that. Thank you."_

"_Also, I got you something else…"_

"_Nooo…" Kurt whines. "Is it a car? A house? A castle?" he jokes. _

"_No!" Blaine jokes back, sticking his tongue out. "It's in this room. You have to find it." _

_Kurt gets off of the piano bench and looks around the room. "I don't see anything else that's changed."_

"_You have to look! Move around some." Blaine grins, following Kurt with his eyes. _

_Kurt sighs and walks around the room, looking at all the wrong things. Then he turns to Blaine. "I don't see- Oh! They're beautiful!" Kurt spots the vase beside where Blaine is standing, under the window. _

"_Sunflowers!" Kurt laughs. "You're ridiculous, Blaine."_

"_I know you love them." Blaine grins. "But there's more."_

"_Blaine, no. You can't jus-"_

"_It's not any more gifts. Just…" Blaine gestures to the door. "Let me give you a tour of my house."_

"_What?" Kurt looks confused but follows Blaine into the bathroom. "More sunflowers?" He grins and touches a petal on one of the flowers in vase. _

_Blaine leaves the bathroom and stops right outside the door. A vase of sunflowers on one of the small tables by the door. Kurt smells one and follows Blaine into the kitchen. A vase of sunflowers on the counter in front of the huge window. Kurt picks a petal and puts it on top of Blaine's curls when he turns around. He giggles to himself as he follows Blaine into the bedroom. A vase of sunflowers on one of the nightstands. Kurt walks up to it and sits down on the bed. _

"_Thank you, Blaine. They are amazing." He sniffles but smiles at Blaine who is leaning against the dresser behind him. _

"_I'm glad you like them."_

"_They must have been expensive. Sunflowers are not in season." _

"_Don't worry about it." Blaine smiles and looks self-consciously at his feet. "It was worth it to see you smile."_

_Kurt blushes to the tips of his ears. Both boys are quiet until Blaine's stomach rumbles a few minutes later. Kurt chuckles. "You should eat something before Charles brings Aimee over."_

"_Do you think I need a shower? Do I stink?"_

_Kurt laughs. "No, you don't." __**Please don't! I want you to find that petal. **__"You need to eat." _

"_Okay then." Blaine goes into the kitchen and starts clinking with plates and cutlery while Kurt admires the bouquet on the nightstand. _

_**Wow… Just wow. Why did it take me so long to see that I'm in love with him? He's amazing. I've got to tell him. **_

_**But I'm dead… **_

_**No, I can't. He can never know.**_

* * *

><p>An hour or so later Blaine has wolfed down so much food he's about to puke. He leans back in his chair and groans, running his hands through his hair. "What is this?" he says and picks something out if his hair.<p>

Kurt giggles. "Looks like a sunflower-petal. I wonder how that got there."

"Ha-ha." Blaine rolls his eyes. "Cute."

Kurt grins and is about to say something when the doorbell rings. Blaine races into the hallway and opens the door, revealing Charles and Aimee on the other side. "Hi baby!" he exclaims, picking her up and hugging her tight.

"Merry Christmas Blainey." Aimee squeaks from where her face is pressed into Blaine's neck. "Where is Kurt?"

"In the kitchen." Blaine kisses her the tip of her nose. "Thank you for bringing her over, Char. Merry Christmas."

"I'll pick her up at four. Merry Christmas, sir." Charles does a small bow before walking back toward his car.

Blaine sets Aimee on his hip and closes the front door before walking back into the kitchen.

"Hi Aimee." Kurt says and moves to sit on the floor.

"Hi Kurt!" she beams and wiggles her upper body until Blaine laughs and puts her down. "Merry Christmas!" She walks over and gives him a tight hug.

"Merry Christmas." He smiles when she pulls back.

"Let's sit in the sofa." Blaine says and the other two follow him toward the living room.

"Oh! Your tree is so pretty, Blaine!" Aimee exclaims when they walk past it in the hallway.

"Thanks. Kurt decorated it."

"You helped." Kurt states, his cheeks getting slightly pink.

"You moved everything that I put up." Blaine scoffs and pokes Kurt on the arm.

Kurt's cheeks darken even further. "Did you get any fun gifts this morning, Aimee?"

"Yeah! I got a new dress and shoes and a bunch of plastic fruits and-" Aimee starts rambling as the three of them sit down on the sofa. "-and dad said I might get a pony next year. A PONY, Blaine!"

Blaine and Kurt both grin at the little girl. "That's great, honey." Blaine snuggles close to her and smells her hair.

She giggles and inches toward Kurt on her other side. "She's gonna be white and I'm gonna name her Dawn. But you have to help me braid her mane, Blainey! With silver strings!"

"Of course I'll help you!" Blaine grins.

"Why with silver strings?" Kurt asks as Aimee leans her head against his arm.

"So she'll look like a unicorn! Duh!" Aimee states and both boys laugh.

* * *

><p><em>Kurt sits on the piano bench hip-to-hip with Aimee, playing a happy melody for her when Blaine comes back into the room. Both Kurt and Aimee turn around to see what he went to get a few minutes earlier.<em>

"_Where is it?" Aimee frowns. "That thing you goed to get."_

"_The thing I went to get isn't in here. You two have to follow me." Blaine reaches his hand out toward Aimee._

_She takes it and looks back at Kurt. "Come on! I wanna see what it is!" Then she reaches her other hand out toward him, and Kurt melts inside. He gets up and takes her hand, smiling at Blaine over Aimee's head. Blaine smiles back with a twinkle in his warm eyes, before they continue into the hallway and when they round the corner-_

"_PRESENTS!" Aimee shrieks when she sees the mountain of gifts under the Christmas Tree, but she doesn't let go of the boys' hands. _

"_They're all for you, honey. Go ahead." Blaine says softly._

_Aimee lets go of their hands and plunks down on the floor, grabbing a gift in shiny pink wrapping. She touches the white ribbon around it before looking up at Kurt and Blaine. Her face falls. "You don't get any?" _

"_Blaine got me a bunch this morning." Kurt smiles first at Aimee and then at Blaine. "The piano was a gift from him, as well as the pretty sunflowers all over the house."_

"_Oh." Aimee smiles again. "You like him." she tells Blaine before starting to unwrap her gift. _

_Kurt glances at Blaine who is blushing profusely. But then he notices something on the wall. His stocking isn't empty anymore. "Blaiiiiiine." he whines, taking a step toward the stocking and picking it off of the wall. He doesn't notice how close he and Blaine are standing, or how Blaine's blush has spread down his neck. Kurt pulls a sketch book and a bunch of pencils out of the stocking before putting it back on the wall. "What are these for?" He eyes the different colored pencils with a rubber band around them. _

"_I thought you might like your own. So you don't have to use my crappy school-pencil." Blaine says, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. _

"_Thank you." Kurt smiles shyly and touches the tip of a pencil that matches the color of his cardigan._

"_Now we can draw together!" Aimee says and when Kurt looks down at her she's holding a big box of crayons. _

"_Of course!" Kurt smiles._

* * *

><p><em>When Charles comes to get Aimee before dinner she babbles on about all the things she's done with Blaine and – what Charles thinks is her imaginary friend – Kurt. All the gifts she got, how the boys played her songs on the piano, the drawings they did and how happy she is that Kurt's parents are like hers and Blaine's, so Kurt got to spend Christmas with them. <em>

_Blaine told her that Kurt was in the same position as him; that he too didn't live with his parents anymore. And he told Kurt that he thought that explanation was easier than the truth, and Kurt agreed. _

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued.<strong>

**Author's note: **There it is, chapter 11. I hope you liked the Klaimee Christmas! ^^ Please review to let me know what you think (even if it's that I should change my penname back). I love you all! :D


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Glee, any of their characters or anything that can be related to something that exists in the real word.

**Warnings:** None, I think.

**Author's notes:**_ First!_ THANK YOU SO MUCH to my 50th reviewer of this story: **shadowjardis  
><strong>_Second:_ I've written a one-shot from this 'verse, called "Ready To Go". It's about how Kurt's mother dies, and I thought you guys might be interested in it since you read this story. So check it out if you want! ^^  
><em>Third, the usual messages xD :<em> So, this chapter took a lot longer to finish than I had intended. I've been working my butt off and had little time to write. I've decided to do every other chapter of this story and Apple Shampoo until it's done. *still ashamed I can't just stick to one story* I start a new job tomorrow, where I'm gonna work bad hours so I'm gonna have even less time to write and it's not an office-job anymore so I'm gonna be exhausted too. BUT I'm gonna have at least 1 hours on the train every day to write, and my super-awesome writing mood is still in place. So don't worry your pretty little heads! :D  
>Anywaaaay, sorry for the long AN. Here's the chapter. Hope you all like it! ^^<p>

_Italic text is Kurt's experiences._  
>Normal text is Blaine's experiences.<br>**_Italic Bold text is Kurt's thoughts._**  
><strong>Normal Bold text is Blaine's thoughts.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Nailed Shut<strong>

Chapter 12

A couple of days later Blaine is driving himself and Kurt to his grandmother's house. "I called her the other day and asked if we could come today; and she said she was prepared." he states as he parks the car beside the truck.

"Uh-huh."

They walk up the stairs and Blaine knocks on the door before turning to Kurt, who looks really worried. "Are you nervous?"

"Uh-huh."

"Don't be. I'm sure she'll be able to figure something out." Blaine pats Kurt reassuringly on the shoulder.

"Hello boys." They turn to Lily who's just opened the front door. "How are you two today?"

"Fine, grandma." Blaine says. "But Kurt's a little nervous."

"Oh, don't be, darling. It'll be fine." She leads them into the house and they sit down on one of the sofas while the little lady walks into the kitchen to make them tea.

Kurt scoots closer to Blaine. "What if it doesn't work? What if I'll never be able to see my mom?" he whispers, meeting Blaine's eyes.

Blaine sees the tears about to form there and flips his hand over on his knee. Kurt hesitantly entwines his fingers with Blaine's, which start to tingle with warmth. "Then I'll translate for you as long as you'll let me. But don't worry. I can see you, and I couldn't at first. It'll be fine." But Blaine is secretly trying to reassure himself as much as he's trying to reassure Kurt. How would Kurt react if he for the second time during his existence found out that he could never talk to his mother again? And what would Blaine do to comfort him?

"Thank you." Kurt whispers as Blaine's hand starts to sting from the warmth. Blaine scrunches his nose up a little and Kurt looks confused for a second before letting go quickly. "Did I hurt you?"

"No, no!" Blaine says, torn between the relief of not feeling like his hand is in scolding water and the emptiness of not being able to physically feel Kurt's presence. "It just-"

"It's the warmth you were talking about when we were in Columbus, isn't it?"

"Yeah…" Blaine admits, rubbing his hands together carefully. "When you touch bare skin it starts to sting after a while."

"I'm sorry." Kurt says sadly.

"It's not your fault." Blaine assures him. "I will get used to-"

"Here's the tea." Lily walks back into the living room with the tray.

Blaine stands and helps her put it down on the table before they both get seated. Kurt and Blaine share a glance as Lily leans back in the opposite sofa with her big mug of tea.

"You don't want tea, darling?" she says and raises an eyebrow at Blaine.

"Um…" Blaine hesitates. "I'm too nervous. And it's really warm. I'll drink it in a minute."

"Well, then." Lily takes a slow sip of her tea and both boys watch her quietly. She puts her mug back on the table and pulls something out of a small wooden box beside the tea-tray. "Are you ready?"

"No." Blaine says, barely audible.

"As I'll ever be." Kurt says and moves to sit on the edge of the sofa, as close as he can get to the table between him and Blaine's grandmother. Blaine does the same.

"Okay. You'll have to go one at a time. Kurt, Blaine told me this was one of your Christmas gifts, so you get to go first." She smiles and opens her hand to reveal a very dark blue crystal on a silver chain. Blaine for a second thinks that she's going to swing it back and forth like when they hypnotize people in movies. But she holds it still, the stone glistening in the last rays of sunlight filtering in through the window. "Just look at the stone and concentrate all of your being on it until I tell you otherwise, okay?"

Kurt nods once and then leans forward a little bit further. Blaine watches Kurt watch the crystal for several minutes before-

"Close your eyes." Lily instructs and Kurt does. "Exhale and hold until I tell you."

Blaine starts panicking after Kurt's held his breath for more than four minutes, even though he keeps thinking that Kurt's dead. Not breathing won't do him any harm. And if it would, Blaine's grandmother wouldn't make him do it.

"Open your eyes."

Blaine lets out a breath as Kurt's eyes open.

"Oh." Kurt says, looking at the empty space beside Lily. "Hello, sir."

_When Kurt opens his eyes again there is a man sitting beside Blaine's grandmother. A surprised greeting escapes him before he realizes who it is. _

"_Hello, boy." the green-eyed man says calmly with a deep voice. _

_It's Blaine's grandfather Rolf, who's been dead for years. His ghost. __**Another ghost.**_

_Kurt grabs a hold of Blaine's knee, digging his nails into the fabric of his jeans. "It worked." he whispers, moving his gaze from the red-haired man to Blaine. _

"_Let's go visit your mom then!" Blaine looks ecstatic. _

"_Always so eager." Lily whispers to Rolf, but Blaine doesn't react._

"_No." Kurt says firmly. "It's your turn now."_

"_But what about-"_

"_No." _

"_You ready, darling?" Lily says and holds the crystal out like before. _

"_Yeah." Blaine smiles at Kurt. "If I can just have my knee back." _

_Kurt realizes he's still gripping Blaine's leg hard. He lets go and blushes. "Sorry." he mumbles and Blaine grins at him before turning to look at the crystal._

* * *

><p>They try it four times, but it still doesn't work. Blaine still can't see his grandfather.<p>

"It's not gonna work, grandma." Blaine sighs as he opens his eyes after the last try.

"It will." Kurt says softly. "We'll just have to try something else. There are other things we can try, right?" he turns to Lily with a pleading and slightly desperate look.

The woman looks thoughtful for a moment before smiling. "Of course. But it'll be a little while before I have it ready."

"What is it?" Blaine asks, glancing at Kurt for a moment before looking back at his grandmother.

"You'll have to wait and see, honey." She picks her cup up again and empties it. "It's late. You boys should head back to school."

"It's not bedtime for another few hours, granny." Blaine chuckles.

"I'm old, Blaine. It is for me." The woman winks at the boys before standing.

Blaine gets up and helps her carry the tray of tea back to the kitchen. "I'm sorry I didn't have any tea, grandma." Blaine says apologetically as she pours the contents of his cup down the drain.

"Your palm hurts, doesn't it?" she says as she rinses the cups out. Blaine nods when she looks up at him. "It will get better."

"Are you sure?"

"Rolf could barely touch me at all for the first year. But you seem to be handling it a lot better than I did and it's been what, two months?"

"Yes." Blaine blushes slightly. "I like to be able to actually feel that he's real."

"Is that so?" Lily smiles softly.

"If I couldn't I'm not sure I could actually believe he's real. He's so… unreal." Blaine sighs. "I don't know how to explain it."

"I understand, darling." She pats his arm before leading him back into the living room.

Kurt is smiling and finishes a sentence just as they walk in. He must be talking to Rolf.

"You ready to go?" Blaine smiles and Kurt stands.

"It was nice meeting you, sir." Kurt says to the empty sofa opposite to him before walking over to Lily and bending down to hug her. "Thank you so much for the help, ma'am."

"Any time." She pats his back before ushering the boys toward the door. "I don't want you to drive in the dark, Blaine. It's dangerous."

"See you soon, grandma." Blaine hugs her too before they exit the house.

They walk silently to Blaine's car and get in. Blaine notices that Kurt fastens his seatbelt, even though he doesn't have to, and it makes Blaine smile.

"I hope you'll be able to see next time. Your grandfather is a very nice man." Kurt says and smiles as Blaine starts the car and drives slowly onto the road.

"What did you talk about?" Blaine looks at Kurt for a second, just long enough to see him blush slightly.

"Um… Well, he told me that he's been visiting you sometimes and that you seem very happy now."

"I am." Blaine smiles to himself.

* * *

><p>"<em>Oh God, I am SO not ready for this." Kurt fidgets in his seat when Blaine parks a few houses down from the Hummel residence. <em>

"_You are. I know you can do it." Blaine turns in his seat and smiles that adorable encouraging smile, holding his hand out between them. _

_Kurt grabs it and Blaine squeezes it tightly, making Kurt's stomach flip. "What do I say to her?"_

"_I think it will come naturally when you see her. Do you want me to go get her or do you want me to stay in the car and wait?"_

"_No, no." Kurt closes his other hand over their linked ones in slight panic. "You have to come with me."_

_Blaine too closes his other hand over their linked ones. "We'll go whenever you're ready."_

_Kurt closes his eyes and inhales deeply as Blaine runs his thumb over Kurt's knuckles. He lifts his head a bit and lets go of Blaine's hands. "Let's go before I chicken out."_

"_We really don't have to do it now. No rush." Blaine says softly as he unbuckles his seatbelt._

"_No, I want to see her. I've waited for this since I was eight."_

* * *

><p><em>Kurt's family doesn't seem to be home, and a memory gnaws at the back of Kurt mind. Had his father told him they'd all go to see family over new year's week? Probably. <em>

_Kurt reaches up to get the key down from the lamp and hands it to Blaine. He takes a deep breath and hesitantly touches Blaine's hand. Blaine grips it at once, puts the key in the lock with his other hand and looks at Kurt. "You ready?" Kurt nods and Blaine opens the door. They step inside and walk into the living room. _

"_Mom?" Kurt looks around the room, his heart pounding hard against his ribs and his hand still squeezing Blaine's tightly. _

"_Hello boys!" _

_Kurt stops breathing. His mother is standing in the doorway they just entered through. Her long hair is flowing down her shoulders and she's wearing a lavender dress. That dress was her favorite; the dress she was buried in. She looks just as she did when he lost her almost ten years ago, except that the sparkle that she had in her eyes before she got sick is back. "Mommy?" Kurt whispers._

_Her smile disappears and she turns her eyes to Blaine. "Did you visit your grandmother?" _

"_Yes." Blaine whispers._

_Anette takes a step toward them and lifts a hand hesitantly toward her son. "Kurt, honey?"_

"_Mommy!" Kurt lets go of Blaine's hand and throws himself into his mother's arms. _

_Kurt doesn't care if he's acting like he did back when he was eight, as he sobs and clutches at her. He's taller and broader than her now and he hugs her tighter than he ever would have dared when she was alive. She doesn't feel thin and fragile anymore, but firm and steady. _

_Her arms are wrapped around his ribcage and her cheek is pressed against his neck. Kurt buries his nose in her hair and she smells just like he remembered. Like berries and candy and sunshine and safety. It triggers a bunch of things in Kurt's brain. Except for all the memories flashing in his mind, feelings wash over him and hit him like a brick wall. Relief, happiness, love, worry, sadness, horror, pain and sorrow. His skin is on fire from the contact with hers, but he refuses to let go as tears stream down his face and into her hair. He whimpers her name and holds her even tighter, terrified that she might disappear from him again. _

_"I'm so sorry." he whispers and lifts a hand to the back of her head. _

_"Don't be sorry. You did nothing wrong, baby." She smoothes her thumb against his back. "Shh. __I won't disappear again. I promise. I'm right here."_

_Kurt loosens his hold on her and leans back, looking at her gorgeous face. She doesn't look older than when he saw her last, younger rather. The lines of worry she used to have are gone, as are the hollow cheeks her sickness had caused._

_"You look beautiful." he says and smiles softly at her._

_She still has an arm around him as she lifts the other high to wipe tears off his cheeks._

_"You've grown so much. You're not a little boy anymore." __She giggles and Kurt closes his eyes, reveling in the sound. How he'd missed it.__"Let sit." she says softly, and they move to sit on the couch, still holding hands firmly. _

_Kurt looks around and realizes that Blaine isn't in the room anymore. "Blaine?" he whines. _

"_He gave us some space." Anette says softly. "Wait right here."_

_Before Kurt can tell his mother not to leave, she's gone. He's gripping the cold air and looks around frantically. His flesh is relieved, the burning sting now being absent. Just as he is about to get up Blaine walks through the front door with Anette behind him. _

"You left." Kurt says sadly, and Blaine flinches at the hurt look in his eyes.

"I wanted to give you two some space. I sat on the front porch the whole time. I'm here." he smiles at Kurt and sits down beside him on the couch.

Kurt grips his hand and Blaine can see him release a breath. Anette sits down on Kurt's other side, and he turns to her. "So…"

"I'm so glad your grandmother could help, Blaine." Anette smiles at them.

"Me too." he replies, moving his eyes from her to Kurt.

"I have something I want to ask you." Kurt says and looks at his and Blaine's joined hands on his leg.

"You can ask me anything, honey."

"You said you've been here since you died." Anette nods so Kurt continues. "Were you with me when I died?"

"Oh, honey." she replies, smoothing her thumb across his jaw. Kurt grips on tighter to Blaine's hand, and he tries to ignore the stinging. "For my own sake I'm glad I wasn't. But oh, how I would have wanted for you not to be alone when it happened." This time it's Blaine tightening the grip on Kurt's hand. "But I felt that something was wrong, and I got to you before your father did."

"They caught the guy, didn't they?"

"They did. He's going to jail for a long, long time." She sighs and moves a lock of hair behind her ear. "Do you remember anything from that night?"

"I have tried not to think about it. The only things I've remembered so far are sounds. First that I screamed, then something cracked and then everything went quiet. Then I woke up at Dalton."

They're all quiet for a while and Kurt shudders. "Were you ever around when I went to school?"

"Almost every day. I saw the things some kids put you through …" Anette admits. "I'm glad you're safe now. No one will ever hurt you again."

"And I have Blaine." Kurt states, and both boys blush.

The old grandfather-clock in the hallway chimes, and Kurt stiffens. "It's late and you still haven't eaten anything, Blaine."

"You boys go. Have an amazing New Year's Eve." Anette stands. "I'll be here whenever you want to see me."

Kurt stands too. "I've missed you, mom."

"I missed you too. But now we have eternity." Anette says, and both spirits smile and hug each other close.

Blaine's heart hurts and he feels like crying. But he just bites his lower lip and stands too. "Let's go, Kurt."

They leave Anette in the living room and the car ride back to Dalton is very quiet. Blaine watches Kurt out of the corner of his eyes occasionally, but leaves him alone to process the day.

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued!<strong>

**Author's note:** There you go! Kurt has finally gotten to talk to his mother again! Yay! Next chapter will be the new year's celebration and some other fluffy stuff (before the angst comes back, MOHAHAHA). ^^

I have decided to give my 100:th reviewer a price! It will be a fic that I write (about 2000 words), but you get to decide what it's about. (Maybe that's not an awesome price, but I try. xD)

Please review and let me know what you thought of this chapter. I love you all! ^^


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Glee, any of their characters or anything that can be related to something that exists in the real word.

**Warnings:** None, I think.

**Author's notes: **Poor, poor Blaine... Here's chapter 13. Hope you all like it! ^^

_Italic text is Kurt's experiences._  
>Normal text is Blaine's experiences.<br>**_Italic Bold text is Kurt's thoughts._**  
><strong>Normal Bold text is Blaine's thoughts.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Nailed Shut<strong>

Chapter 13

On the last of December Blaine and Kurt were walking down the hallway after lunch, heading to Blaine's room when Jeff suddenly popped up in front of them from behind a corner.

"Hey Blaine!" Jeff said, bouncing slightly on his feet.

"Hello, Jeff." Blaine replied with a grin. "What's up?"

"I'm excited for tonight. I can't wait!" he beamed, grabbing Blaine's upper arm. "Are you bringing any… soda-" Jeff winked over exaggeratedly. "-to the party tonight?"

"No. I'm not even sure I'm gonna come."

Jeff's face fell. "But it's New Year's Eve!" he whined. "You HAVE to come!"

"Tell him you'll go." Kurt said, and Blaine turned his face toward him. "Tell him you'll go." Kurt repeated sternly.

"Why not?" Jeff whined, and Blaine turned back to him. "We were gonna get drunk and dance!"

Blaine laughed a little. "That's probably not gonna happen even if I do come."

"Tell him you'll come." Kurt repeated again, poking Blaine in the neck.

"Fine!" Blaine blurted. "I'll come."

"Yay!" Jeff exclaimed, clapping his hands together. "So bring some booze, okay?" He started skipping away and Blaine laughed again. "See you at seven, Blaine!" the blonde called over his shoulder before disappearing around another corner.

"I like Jeff." Kurt remarked as they continued walking, nearing Blaine's room.

"He's awesome."

* * *

><p><em>When they entered Blaine's room he sat down on his bed and Kurt placed himself in the armchair, crossing his arms over his chest. "Why did you tell him you might not go?" <em>

_Blaine leaned against the headboard and blushed slightly. "I think you know." _

"_Blaine." Kurt sighed, but smiled. "You don't have to spend every wake minute with me."_

"_Maybe I want to." Blaine mumbled, and Kurt's mouth fell open for a moment before he snapped it shut. __**He did not just say that… **_

"_I'll come with you if you want." _

"_You don't have to." Blaine smiled faintly. _

"_Maybe I want to." Kurt grinned. "But you should hang out with your friends. Don't worry about me. If you have fun, then I'll have fun too."_

* * *

><p>"There isn't any alcohol in this, right?" Blaine asked suspiciously as Jeff handed him a plastic cup with a blue glittery liquid inside.<p>

"Of course not!" Jeff chirped, heading back toward the punch bowl.

Blaine sipped the drink and decided it didn't taste like alcohol at all, unlike Jeff's usual cocktails. The room is set up much like when they had the Halloween-party. A long table full of snacks, cups and a big punchbowl in the middle. Big, black plastic bags hung over the backs of chairs, for garbage. Sparkly, silver decorations cover the walls and the big flat screen TV is on. It's showing live coverage from the ball drop in New York, but the sound is turned off. Happy, dance-y music is blasting from the speakers in the corners of the ceiling.

"Do you guys have a lot of parties in here?" Kurt asked loudly over the music.

"Some." Blaine replied, taking a step closer to Kurt instead of shouting. "Halloween, sometimes Christmas, New Year's, graduation and some birthdays. And a few random parties when we're bored out of our minds."

Kurt laughed, and a thrill went up Blaine's spine. He was about to say something, but Trent walked up to them. "Hi Blaine!" he said, standing closer to Blaine than he usually did. "Are you having fun?"

"I am." Blaine smiled and took a few sips from his cup. "Are you?"

"Of course!" Trent beamed, holding his cup up. "It's spiked!"

"Of course it is." Blaine grinned. "Take it easy tonight. We don't want you falling over again, do we?"

"I won't!" Trent started walking toward a group of boys dancing in another corner of the room. "Come dance with me!"

"Later." Blaine shouted as Trent joined a break-dancing Jeff on the "dance floor".

Blaine took a couple of mouthfuls of his drink, walking over to a group of chairs by the snacks-table. Kurt followed him, but kept his eyes on Jeff as he stood from the floor and started waving his arms around. "Aren't you going to dance?"

"Nah… I don't dance much out of rehearsals. Unless I'm drunk."

"And why aren't you getting drunk today? That sure seems to be your friends' plans."

Blaine flashed Kurt a huge grin. "Well, something happened a few months ago, and we decided that we should always have one person that's sober at our parties."

"What happened?"

Blaine proceeded to tell Kurt a bunch of drunken Warblers-stories, and after about an hour Kurt was laughing so much he was doubled over on his chair. Blaine was trying not to laugh himself, as it would seem strange for him to sit alone and laugh at nothing.

"Oh gosh! Your friends are morons!" Kurt wheezed, leaning back and smiling so hard his teeth showed.

"'Ey! 'M one o' them!" Blaine joked after downing the last of his fourth cup of blue punch.

"_Hey, Blaine!" _

_Both boys looked up to find Jeff grinning down at Blaine. "Need another drink, or are you ready to dance?" _

"_You!" Blaine shouted and pointed a finger at Jeff accusingly. "You spiked the blue stuff!"_

"_Of course I did. Thad is the sober one today, and you've been so wound up lately. Now come dance!" _

_Kurt laughed as Blaine glared at Jeff who pulled Blaine out of his chair and into the group of dancing boys. He continued to watch as Trent and another Warbler started dancing with Blaine, and he let loose. He danced like nobody was watching, bending his knees together and snapping his fingers to the beat of the music. Kurt laughed and walked closer, grinning broadly at the sight. Blaine looked up and moved to the edge of the cluster of boys, waving for Kurt to come dance too. Kurt shook his head, mouthing a "no", but Blaine just grinned and shook his butt in Kurt's direction. Blaine was drunk, and Kurt found it hilarious. _

"Please!" Blaine mouthed, waving once again for Kurt to come dance.

Finally Kurt moved closer, starting to do a sachet with his upper body. Blaine laughed and grabbed onto his hands, pulling him closer and dancing right up next to him. He felt like he didn't have a worry in the world, as long as Kurt kept blushing like that.

* * *

><p>"Hey, erryone! Countdown's 'bout to begin!" Jeff shouted and turned the music off.<p>

All the guys stopped what they were doing as David turned the sound of the TV back on. Blaine stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Kurt, leaning slightly against him. He'd felt a little dizzy after dancing like a fool for so long, but everything felt a lot clearer by now.

Trent suddenly appeared at his other side, leaning closer to ask him something as the other guys watched the TV. "You kissin' anyone at midnight?"

"No." Blaine declared.

"Is it because we're all boys?" Trent giggled.

"I'm gay, remember?" Blaine laughed slightly at his tipsy friend. "I can't kiss the person I want to kiss tonight."

_Kurt felt his heart break a little. _

"_Oh right!" Trent exclaimed. "Kurt!"_

_Blaine blushed, and Kurt thought he could feel his heart stitching itself together a little again. __**He wants to kiss me?**_

"_Right." Blaine mumbled, and then the boys started the countdown. _

_Kurt chimed in until "Three!" and then he turned to Blaine. "Thank you for bringing me along to this." _

"_You're welco-" _

_Kurt kissed Blaine on the cheek as the Warblers shouted "HAPPY NEW YEAR!". _

_Kurt pulled back and blushed. Blaine just stared at him. "Happy new year, Blaine."_

"_You too." Blaine said breathlessly and Kurt turned to look at the other guys in the room. _

_Wes had drunkenly kissed David and now they were both wiping their tongues on their sleeves. Trent had apparently found a random Warbler and kissed him; they were both giggling like crazy. Jeff had grabbed Nick by the tie, and they were still kissing. Kurt smiled and looked back at Blaine. "What happens now?" _

"_PARTEEEEEEEYYY!" Jeff shouted as he released a dizzy-looking Nick and went to turn the music back on._

* * *

><p>Blaine was sitting in the window in one of the Dalton common rooms looking out at the falling snow, the glass cold against his shoulder and knee. He'd been thinking of Kurt's kiss for two weeks now, and he couldn't forget the feeling of his soft, warm lips on his cheek. He could still feel the tingling sensation in his flesh.<p>

"Hi." He turned his head to find Kurt standing a few steps away. "What are you doing?"

"Just thinking."

"I'm sorry if I disturbed you."

"Not at all." Blaine said and swung his legs down onto the floor. "What's up?"

"It's my mom's birthday today." Kurt said slowly.

"Oh. We should visit her then." Blaine smiled and stood.

"Yeah." Kurt didn't look excited.

"What?"

"It's just-" Kurt sighed. "I'm used to being sad on her birthday. I always visit her grave to leave flowers and talk to her. It's so strange that I suddenly have her back."

"Oh." Blaine didn't know how to respond to that, so he just took a step closer to Kurt and held his hand out. "We can do that too. Get flowers for her grave, I mean. Then we can go talk to her."

Kurt grabbed his hand and Blaine sighed contently internally as the familiar warm tingling started nibbling on his skin.

* * *

><p>Blaine bought a bouquet of sunflowers for Kurt to leave on Anette's grave and when they arrived at the graveyard the snow had stopped falling. They walked close together through the snow, Kurt not leaving any footprints as they neared the grave. The only sign that Kurt had been buried here a couple of months ago was the small hill under the thin layer of white. Blaine put the bouquet down by the headstone as Kurt brushed the newly fallen snowflakes off of it. He then sat down next to it, leaning his shoulder against the white marble.<p>

"Do you want me to leave you?" Blaine asked carefully as he straightened.

"I'll just be a minute." Kurt mumbled, and Blaine walked toward the car.

"_Hi mom." Kurt whispered, looking at Blaine's back as he walked away. "I know it's silly for me to still talk to you here, but I just…" He sighed, tracing the engraved letters of her name. "I'm in love." Kurt smiled slightly and looked after Blaine again, but he had disappeared around the corner of the funeral-building. "You were right. I think I was meant to find him. I just wish I would have while I was still alive."_

_He was quiet for a couple of minutes, continuing to move his fingers over the golden letters on the stone. _

"_Happy birthday. I'll talk to you in a few minutes." He smiled and stood, walking back to Blaine's car._

* * *

><p>Blaine parked the car a few houses down from the Hummel-Hudson's and waited as Kurt went to their house to get his mother.<p>

Kurt returned a couple of minutes later with Anette behind him. They got in the car through the closed doors, both sitting in the backseat.

"Happy birthday, Anette." Blaine said and smiled, turning in his seat to look at the two Hummels.

"Thank you, dear." she replied, smiling back.

Kurt grabbed her hand and closed his eyes. "We left some flowers at your grave."

"Oh, thank you honey. I'll go look at them when you leave." She rubbed her thumb across the back of Kurt's hand.

"Sunflowers." Blaine said.

"My favorite." Kurt mumbled and smiled. He opened his eyes to look at Blaine.

"I love them too." Anette reached out to pat Blaine's shoulder. "Thank you."

"I wish we could have brought cake." Blaine touched her hand briefly before she pulled back.

"Gosh, how I miss cake." She sighed dreamily.

Kurt giggled and Blaine's insides felt all tingly. But then his smile wavered. "How is dad doing?"

"It seems he hasn't remembered that it's my birthday yet." Anette said and her features darkened. "He still isn't sleeping well. Carole is doing her best to comfort him, but sometimes I hear him cry or call your name in his sleep."

Blaine turned to look out the windshield. Kurt sighed. "He will probably remember during the evening." He didn't comment on his father's obvious sorrow, most likely because it was too painful. Blaine couldn't even imagine.

* * *

><p><em>On the 19<em>_th__ of January Kurt sat doodling in his new sketchbook with his new pencils while Blaine was in class. He'd drawn a lot since school started back up a couple of weeks ago, but he still hadn't told Blaine about it. This afternoon he was drawing an asymmetric yellow dress that he had thought about since his mother's birthday. _

"_Hi."_

_Kurt flipped the book closed and turned around in the chair to face Blaine. "Hello." he said breathlessly. He hadn't heard him come back. _

"_What are you drawing?" Blaine said and leaned his hip against the desk, a mischievous smile on is face. _

"_Oh, nothing." Kurt said airily and waved his hand in the air._

"_Can I see it, then?" Blaine's smile turned into a grin._

"_Um… I- It's not-" Kurt stammered. "Fine." He sighed and flipped the sketchbook open. _

"_Oh, wow." Blaine leaned a hand against the desk and bent over slightly to get a closer look. "That's beautiful, Kurt." _

"_Thanks." Kurt mumbled and blushed. "I would have loved to make it for my mother. You know, if we weren't dead." _

"_I'm sorry, Kurt." Blaine flipped through the sketchbook without protests from Kurt. "These are all gorgeous." _

"_Thanks. I've been drawing while you've been in class, as you can see."_

_Blaine stopped at the first drawing in the book. "This is men's wear. All the others are dresses." _

"_Yeah…" Kurt breathed. "You inspired that outfit." He blushed further and didn't meet Blaine's warm gaze._

"_I kinda figured. The guy in the drawing looks very dashing. Wait, he looks like someone I know…"_

"_Dork." Kurt laughed and batted at Blaine's arm playfully. _

"_So you drew this for me?"_

"_I did." Kurt traced a finger against the top of the desk. _

"_You have good taste. You should follow me shopping some time." Blaine laughed and closed the sketchbook. _

_Kurt perked up. "I'd love that!"_

* * *

><p>In the beginning of February Kurt followed Blaine to his grandmother's house to try to get Blaine to see too.<p>

"I hope you're ready." Lily said after getting comfortable on the couch.

"Me too." Blaine said nervously and glanced in Kurt's direction.

Kurt grabbed his hand while Lily picked a small tub of something out of her purse on the floor.

"I made this the day after you boys were here the last time. It had to… mature, for a little while."

She screwed the lid off and moved over to the sofa Blaine and Kurt were seated on.

"What is that?" Blaine was a little bit scared.

Lily dipped the pads of her thumbs in the smooth, gray goo and held her hands up toward Blaine's face. "A few different liquids, some herbs-" she smeared the stuff below Blaine's eyes. It made them water slightly. "- and a pinch of your grandfather's ashes." She smiled as she leaned back, wiping her hands on a tissue.

"WHAT?" Both Kurt and Blaine exclaimed.

Kurt squeezed his hand almost painfully and Blaine drew in a quick breath.

"Now we wait until it has sunk into your skin, and then you should be able to see."

Blaine's eyes filled with tears, both from the herbs in the goo and from disgust. "I don't- I can't-"

"Calm down, dear. It's not dangerous at all. It should only take a few minutes." She patted Blaine's cheek lovingly and wiped a stray tear away. "Shush."

Blaine leaned his head against the backrest of the sofa, closing his eyes and trying to control his breathing. Suddenly he felt a hand in his hair and he realized it was Kurt's, since the familiar warm tingling erupted on his scalp. He sighed and felt his heartbeat slow down a bit. Kurt kept stroking his fingers through Blaine's hair in a comforting way. "It's almost gone." He whispered, and Blaine shuddered.

They were all quiet for a few more minutes, until Blaine felt his grandmother get off the sofa. He opened his eyes and sat back up, watching as she walked over to the staircase.

"Rolf, darling! He's ready." she called up the stairs.

"I'm not ready. I'm not ready. I'm not ready." Blaine mumbled in slight panic.

"Courage." Kurt whispered.

Blaine turned to him and smiled slightly, blinking away the last tears. Blaine squeezed Kurt's hand a bit harder as a silent "thank you".

"Good evening boys."

Blaine's head whipped around toward the staircase. There, next to the picture of his grandfather on the wall, stood his grandfather. He looked just like he did in all the pictures Lily had shown him.

"Grandfather." Blaine breathed.

"You can see me?" the man asked very softly for a man with such a deep voice.

Blaine released Kurt's hand and stood, walking over to extend a hand to his grandfather. "It's great to finally meet you."

"Always so dapper." Kurt whispered to Lily, and they both smiled fondly at Blaine. But he didn't notice.

Rolf shook Blaine's hand, but then pulled him into a hug. "I've seen you grow into an outstanding young man, even though life hasn't been kind to you. Even though people haven't been kind to you. You are so strong, son."

Rolf released Blaine, and he felt tears prickle in his eyes. "Thank you, sir."

"Don't you "sir" me, young man." Rolf chuckled and the sound made Blaine's stomach swoop. It was an oddly comforting sound. "Please call me Rolf. Or "grandfather" when you're ready for that."

* * *

><p><em>That night Blaine had spent an unusually long time in the bathroom before bed, and Kurt had wondered why until Blaine finally emerged into the bedroom again. The skin below his eyes was scrubbed red.<em>

_Blaine sat down on his bed with a huff. "I feel disgusting." _

"_You're not." Kurt said softly and smiled reassuringly at Blaine. "But I probably would too. Do you feel a little better now?"_

"_I do." Blaine smiled too and got under the covers. "Thank you for coming with me."_

"_Thank you for wanting me there."_

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued!<strong>_  
><em>

**Author's note: **Yay! Blaine can see his grandpa! :D So the New Year's Eve party was hilarious to write and I hope it was fun to read too. ^^ In the next chapter there will be some angst, but also a bit of fluff.  
>Oh! Did any of you realize I changed the tempus of the story in this chapter? ;)<br>Please review to let me know what you thought of the chapter. I love you all! ^^


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Glee, any of their characters or anything that can be related to something that exists in the real word.

**Warnings:** None, I think.

**Author's notes: **I finished this chapter in less than 48 hours. That is a personal record. DAYUM I'm on a roll!  
>So this chapter basically goes like this: angst, angst + tiiiiiiiiiiiny bit of semi-fluff, more angst and finally some angst.<br>It will get better in the next one, I promise. I hope the short time it took to write didn't make it bad. :/ Here's chapter 14. Hope you all like it! ^^

_Italic text is Kurt's experiences._  
>Normal text is Blaine's experiences.<br>**_Italic Bold text is Kurt's thoughts._**  
><strong>Normal Bold text is Blaine's thoughts.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Nailed Shut<strong>

Chapter 14:

Saturday the 11th of February 2012

"That was the most amazing thing I've ever experienced!" Kurt exclaimed as they entered Blaine's room.

They had just gotten back from where they stayed at a hotel the night before, after the Lady GaGa-concert Blaine had bought tickets for before Christmas.

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself." Blaine said as he put his bag down on his desk. "I had really fun too, even though I prefer Katy Perry."

"Why am I not surprised?" Kurt rolled his eyes but smiled, sitting down in the armchair.

Blaine laughed and picked their tickets out of his bag. He tacked them to the cork-board above his desk and smiled.

Kurt had been like a child on Christmas Day at the concert. He had smiled and laughed, jumped up and down while singing along to all the songs. And Blaine had fallen even more for Kurt, even though the swelling of his heart also brought on a pain in his chest. He had to tell him. It was now or never. Or now or later, at least. But he couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Kurt?" he said quietly, sitting down on his bed.

"Yes?" Kurt smiled curiously at him.

"Come here."

Kurt stood and walked over to Blaine, sitting down on the bed beside him. Blaine moved closer and took one of Kurt's hands in his own. Kurt was still watching him curiously so he took a deep breath. "I need to tell you something."

"Do tell."

"We've been spending a lot of time together since you came to Dalton, and I have had so much fun. You are easily my best friend, we talk about everything. When you sang that song to your mother I realized something." Kurt was still just looking at him, less curiously now and more worriedly. "I'm in love with you, Kurt."

Kurt gasped a little and his eyes flickered away from Blaine's eyes, to their joined hands instead. Blaine squeezed his hand. "It's okay if you don't like me that way back, but I just couldn't stand holding it in any longer."

Kurt was quiet for a long while, and Blaine felt like he was now holding Kurt's hand like it was a lifeline. He was afraid of what would happen if he let go. "Kurt, please say something." Blaine pleaded in a small voice, making Kurt look up and meet his eyes again.

"Blaine, I-" Kurt began, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes for a second. "I'm in love with you too."

Blaine smiled. He hadn't felt this happy since the first time he laid eyes on his little sister when his parents brought her home from the hospital. "Will you be my boyfriend, Kurt?" Blaine said hopefully, grinning even though his heart was racing.

"No."

Blaine just blinked. He didn't say anything. He didn't move. He didn't breathe.

"_I can't, Blaine." Kurt said and removed his hand from Blaine's grasp. This was the most painful thing Kurt had been forced to do in his life. Going against all of his feelings wasn't going to be easy. But he had to, for Blaine's sake. "I'm dead!" he said a bit more forcefully and stood, taking a step away from the boy he was so madly in love with. _

"_I don't care!" Blaine suddenly exclaimed, standing too. "I don't care! I just want to be happy. And you make me feel happy every day."_

_Kurt felt a tear slide down his cheek, and he had to take another step back as Blaine stepped forward and reached his hand out in an attempt to brush it away. "Someone else will make you happy. Someone who is __**alive**__." _

"_I don't want someone else. I want to be with you." _

"_I would love to be allowed to call you my boyfriend. But I can't let you settle for me! You can find someone who is just as good as me, better even. And you can __**live**__ together until you get __**old**__ and die. __**Together**__." _

"_I don't want to." Blaine whispered, taking another step closer to Kurt while wiping a tear off his own cheek. _

"_I should go." Kurt mumbled and lifted his chin slightly into the air, another tear sliding down his face. _

"_Go? Where?" _

"_I don't know. Just away. You need some space to think." Kurt said and turned toward the door. _

"_I don't want to! I'm sure about this." Blaine caught up to Kurt and grabbed his upper arm gently, spinning him around so they faced each other. "I'm so in love with you."_

_Kurt just bit his lip and released a dry sob. _

"_Please don't go." Blaine pleaded when Kurt once again moved away from him, toward the door. "Please, Kurt!" _

"_I'll come back." Kurt whispered before walking through the door and disappearing. _

"_Kurt!" Blaine called after him. He opened his door and looked into the hallway, but Kurt was already gone._

* * *

><p>About an hour later Blaine was curled up in his pajamas in bed, silent teardrops still rolling down his cheeks.<p>

Did Kurt really think Blaine hadn't considered that the boy he was in love with was dead? Did he really think Blaine could just decide that he didn't want to be with Kurt?

There was a soft knock on the door, but Blaine didn't respond. The door creaked open a little and Blaine pulled the duvet up over his nose. He saw that the intruder was Jeff, who walked in and closed the door behind him. "Blaine?" Jeff took a few steps toward Blaine's bed while tugging on one of the long sleeves of his green shirt. "Are you okay, man? I thought I heard arguing from in here an hour ago."

Blaine pulled the covers down a little and wiped his cheek with his palm. "Kurt and I had a fight."

Jeff hesitantly sat down on the edge of the bed, but moved closer when Blaine made room for him. "Did you break up?" he asked, leaning against the headboard.

Blaine moved up the bed to sit shoulder to shoulder with the blonde. "I don't know." Blaine's eyes filled with tears again.

Jeff moved an arm around his shoulders and squeezed him. "It will be okay."

And Blaine cried some more. Sometimes Blaine wondered if Jeff had a sixth sense that made it possible for him to feel when someone was sad. Because he was always the one to come knock on Blaine's door, seemingly for no reason, when he was the most upset. The contrast between the usual happy, giddy, jumpy, crazy Jeff to this calm, thoughtful, comforting, soft Jeff was why Blaine loved him. And why he was his best friend among the Warblers. Blaine wondered if this was something the other guys had experienced too, if Jeff was just that nice. He never pushed for details. The times this had happened before he had just been there to listen when Blaine felt like talking about what was bringing him down, and just offered a shoulder to cry on when Blaine didn't want to talk about it.

Jeff leaned his temple against Blaine's forehead and wrapped his other arm around him too. "He'll come around. Just wait." Blaine leaned back and Jeff let him go, smiling slightly. "Don't give up hope, ever."

Blaine smiled back. "Thanks, Jeff."

"Do you wanna come over and watch a movie with me a Nick? We can eat ice-cream and you can sit between us. It'll be super cozy."

Blaine chuckled a little and wiped his eyes and cheeks for the last time that night. "I'd love to."

* * *

><p><em>Kurt ran. He was crying so hard he couldn't see, and barely breathe. When he finally stopped running he fell to his knees and used his sleeve to dry the wet tracks on his face. When he lifted his gaze he found his family's house. He didn't reflect on how far away it was from Dalton, or how he had managed to get there so fast. He just walked up to front door and hesitated for a moment before walking through the door and into the warmth of the house. <em>

_His father was sitting in his old armchair, watching a football game. Or so Kurt thought, until he got closer and realized his father was asleep with his chin against his chest. Kurt smiled at first. Sometimes when he was still alive he had come into the living room to find his father like this and carefully woken him up and practically dragged him up the stairs to put him in bed. But Kurt's face fell as he realized his father probably still had problems sleeping. _

_Kurt walked into the kitchen and found Carole drying off the dishes. She seemed to be staring into empty space as she mechanically picked up plates, glasses and cutlery one after one, never looking at them before putting them aside. Kurt shuddered and walked up the stairs to Finn's room. _

_When he peeked inside Finn wasn't there. But his shoes were on the floor and his backpack hung over his desk chair. Kurt walked inside anyway and went over to Finn's bed. He sat down on it and looked around the room. It looked like it had when he was alive, except for one thing. Kurt's eyes settled on a framed photo on Finn's bedside table. _

_It was a photo Finn had taken of him when they were in New York for Nationals last year. Kurt remembered when Finn had taken the picture. He had said something clever about the camera and after a minute Finn had understood and snorted, making Kurt start laughing. When they had both calmed down a little Finn had snapped the photo and Kurt had whined that he hadn't been prepared. But later he had told Finn it was his favorite photo of himself. Finn had said it was a photo of one of their brotherly moments, and Kurt had agreed with a smile before Kurt had beaten Finn hard at Halo. _

_Kurt smiled fondly. Finn could be a bit slow sometimes, but he always meant well. Finn truly was Kurt's brother. He annoyed the hell out of Kurt most of the time, but he had always been there for him when he needed him to. And that was how a brother was supposed to be, Kurt thought. _

_He got off the bed and walked toward his own room. __**Finn must be at Rachel's house.**__ The door was ajar, so he walked in. But there Finn was. He was lying on his back on Kurt's bed, looking at the ceiling. Kurt walked closer and studied his brother's face as he sat down on the bed next to his hip. Finn had been crying. His eyes were red-rimmed and he had partly wet tracks on his face. His lips were pursed together and his jaw was clenched stubbornly. Kurt realized Finn was holding something when he lifted a hand onto his chest and fiddled with it. It was Kurt's t-shirt from the New Directions' "Born This Way"-performance. Finn stroked his thumb over the big, black B. "Likes Boys"._

_Finn took a shuddering breath and Kurt saw a tear slide down his temple into his hair. Kurt reached out and touched Finn's upper arm. Finn was always so happy and goofy and Kurt hated seeing his family sad and broken like this. Finn took the t-shirt in his other hand and scratched absentmindedly at the spot where Kurt had touched him. _

"_Finn, honey?" Kurt heard Carole call from down the hall. _

_Finn quickly folded Kurt's t-shirt into his bedside-table drawer and wiped his cheeks. _

"_Finn?" Carole stood in the doorway and looked at her son with sad eyes. "Do you want to sleep in here again? I can help you carry the mattress."_

"_No, mom. Not tonight." Finn said and walked over to her. "Is dad asleep in the chair?"_

"_Yes." _

"_I'll get him." Kurt followed Finn down the stairs and watched as Finn lightly shook Burt awake, helping him stand and walk up the stairs. "Goodnight dad." Finn said as he left Burt with Carole in their bedroom. Finn walked to his own room and continued watching the ceiling in there. Kurt sat beside him, trying to imagine what he was thinking about. _

"_Finn?" Carole stood in the doorway again, this time in her pajamas. "Thank you for the help." _

_Finn stood and walked over to her, bending to hug her. "No problem. Goodnight, mom." _

_They hugged for longer than a minute, and Finn squeezed his mother tighter when she tried to pull back. She smiled softly and hugged him tighter again, stroking her thumb against his back. "I miss him too."_

_Finn took a deep breath and released his mother. _

"_Goodnight, honey." Carole whispered before going back to her bedroom._

* * *

><p><em>Kurt slept on the floor in the hallway between Finn's and his parents' rooms, but woke up at about three in the morning. <em>

"_Kurt."_

_He stood and walked into Finn's room. But his brother was lying on his side, curled up into a ball, still sleeping. _

"_Kurt." _

_He hurried into his parents' bedroom and saw that his father had kicked the covers off his body and was twisting and turning. "Kurt!" he called a bit louder this time. "Watch out! NO! KURT!"_

_Carole woke up and tried to grab one of Burt's thrashing arms, but it got ripped from her grip. She stood and hurried into the hallway. _

_Kurt bent down over his father and touched his forehead. "Dad, I'm fine." he mumbled as Burt started kicking with his legs. _

"_KURT!" Burt shouted and Kurt took a step back when he saw the tears escaping his father's tightly squeezed shut eyes. _

_Finn stumbled into the room and Carole turned the ceiling-lamp on before hovering by the foot of the bed. _

"_Burt!" Finn said loudly and grabbed the man's wrists. "Wake up. It's just a dream!" _

"_KURT!" Burt sobbed and stopped trashing around. _

"_Dad, wake up!" Finn gently shook Burt's shoulder and he shot into a sitting position, eyes suddenly wide open. _

"_Finn?" Burt mumbled and looked between him and his wife. _

"_You had another nightmare." Finn mumbled. "Are you okay? Do you want me to get you some water or something?"_

"_No, thanks. I'm fine." Burt grumbled and wiped angrily at his face with his pajama-sleeve. "Thank you, son." _

_Finn smiled his goofy, crooked smile and stood. "Goodnight, dad, mom." _

_Luckily Burt fell asleep rather quickly after that, and he didn't have any more nightmares. Kurt had sat by his sleeping father for almost an hour, stroking the little hair he had left on his head and watching the lines of worry and sadness fade in his sleep._

* * *

><p>When Blaine woke up the next morning he instantly felt cold and empty. He looked toward the armchair beside the bed just to find that he wasn't in his room. He turned onto his other side and realized he had slept on Nick's bed. He looked over to the other bed where Nick was curled up with Jeff, both sleeping soundly. Blaine crawled out of bed and straightened his pajamas. He tiptoed out of the room and into his own, changing into sweatpants and a t-shirt. He still felt cold as his gaze traveled over Kurt's armchair – it felt like it actually was Kurt's now since he had slept in it almost every night for about four months now – so he pulled a cardigan on as well, before he headed toward the dining hall to have breakfast. He was glad he was one of the few guys that had single rooms. Most boys had to share with another guy, unless you had special needs or privileges. Blaine's "special privilege" was that his father didn't want his son to sleep in the same room as another boy.<p>

In the middle of his cereal Jeff and Nick walked hand-in-hand into the dining hall, grabbed some breakfast and sat down next to him.

"Morning, B. Did you sleep well?" Jeff chirped before taking a bite of his toast.

"I did." Blaine smiled. "Thank you for last night, guys."

"No problem." Nick smiled. "Hope my bed was comfy."

Blaine chuckled. He hadn't meant to sleep in their room. But he had fallen asleep before the movie ended so Jeff insisted. They had watched some action movie while eating lots of ice-cream. Neither Jeff nor Nick had pressed him for information about his fight with Kurt, and Blaine was glad. Because how would he explain to them what they were fighting about?

* * *

><p><em>When Kurt woke up again Carole was preparing breakfast in the kitchen while Finn and Burt watched TV. Kurt realized he hadn't met his mother yet, so he looked for her all over the house. He found her in his bedroom. She was sitting by his vanity, stoking her fingers through her hair. <em>

"_Hi mom." Kurt said and walked into the room. _

_Anette turned to look at him. "Hi honey! What are you doing here?" She stood and hugged him, before they sat down on Kurt's bed. _

"_Blaine and I had a fight." Kurt mumbled, looking at his hands on his lap. "I left."_

"_Why, honey?" Anette put a hand on his knee and he met her eyes. Looking at his mother's face was almost like looking into a mirror. There was no doubt where he got his eyes from. _

"_He told me that he's in love with me."_

"_And you're in love with him." She smiled fondly, and Kurt felt a blush creep onto his cheeks. _

"_I'm dead, mom."_

"_I understand." she said, hugging him tightly. _

_Kurt was glad he didn't have to elaborate very much on his thoughts. When she first died she had of course still loved Burt, so she probably recognized some of them. And even if she hadn't thought the same ones exactly, it would certainly be easy for her to imagine, since she was dead too. _

"_He needs some time to think about if he really wants me."_

"_I'm sure he probably thought about it for a while before he even told you."_

_Kurt hadn't reflected on that. "Should I go back?" he ventured before sniffling. _

"_Maybe __**you**__ need some time to think." His mother smiled warmly at him and he tried to smile back, but it didn't reach his eyes. "I'm sure he'll be waiting when you get back."_

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued. <strong>

**Author's note: **Dun dun duuuuun! My poor babies! Evil brain! =( So this hurt my heart to write.  
>Please review to let me know what you thought of the chapter. I love you all! :D<p> 


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Glee, any of their characters or anything that can be related to something that exists in the real word.

**Warnings:** None, I think.

**Author's notes: **TADAA! Here comes a little more angst, but then Warblers and FLUFF! YAY! I'm posting this chapter unedited for now, since I need to go to bed. I'll fix any mistakes tomorrow. xD Chapter 15, ladies and gentlemen. Hope you all like it! ^^

_Italic text is Kurt's experiences._  
>Normal text is Blaine's experiences.<br>**_Italic Bold text is Kurt's thoughts._**  
><strong>Normal Bold text is Blaine's thoughts.<strong>

* * *

><p><strong>Nailed Shut<strong>

Chapter 15:

A couple of days after Kurt had left Dalton Blaine was lying on his back in bed. He was only wearing a pair of sweatpants and his wet post-shower hair stained his pillow as he stared at the ceiling. Today had been his first day of returning to an empty room after classes ended for the day, since Kurt showed up in October.

Blaine felt his eyes tear up and he bit his knuckles hard, trying to push his feelings away. The room felt cold without Kurt's presence, and Blaine felt freezing without the stinging warmth that touching Kurt caused on his skin. The way it seemed to be sucked into his pores, setting all his nerve-endings on fire, mingling with the blood in his veins, pouring toward his brain and making it short-circuit. He couldn't describe what he was feeling now better than "cold and empty".

What if Kurt never came back? What if Blaine would walk around for the rest of his life and flinch every time he saw a head of chestnut-colored hair walk by? What if his heart shattered into yet another piece every time he gazed into a pair or glasz eyes? What if his soul was to be just a torn-off shred-

**You're being overdramatic, Blaine.** Blaine sighed deeply, wiping an escaped tear off his cheek and sitting up. The air of his room wasn't particularly cold, but he shuddered and Goosebumps broke out across his naked torso. He crawled under his duvet and pulled it up over his head. The small space between his face and the fabric filled with warm air as he breathed, and after a couple of minutes it was nice and comfortable under the covers.

He almost drifted off to sleep, but then his phone alerted him about a text-message. He sighed over-exaggeratedly and flipped the duvet off his upper body, grabbing his phone from the nightstand and reading the message.

**From: Jeff  
>Message: Have you heard anything from him yet?<strong>

**To: Jeff  
>Message: No.<strong>

**From: Jeff  
>Message: Wanna come over and eat some more ice-cream? <strong>

**To: Jeff  
>Message: Thank you, Jeff. But I'm gonna go to bed. Goodnight.<strong>

**From: Jeff  
>Message: Okay. =( Sleep well.<strong>

Blaine pulled the duvet back over his head and promptly fell asleep.

* * *

><p><em>On the Thursday after Kurt arrived at his family's house his father and Carole had dressed up and left to eat dinner at a restaurant. His mother's spirit wasn't around either, since she had given Kurt some space to think. <em>

_He was doing just that – sitting in his father's armchair in the living room – when the front door opened and slammed shut so hard the walls shook. Kurt shot into a sitting position and watched as Finn threw his bag onto the floor and stormed up the stairs, slamming his bedroom door shut too. _

"_Finn." Kurt breathed and followed after his brother, not realizing he walked right through his bedroom door. _

_As he entered Finn was in the process of ripping his second shoe off his foot, before throwing it with all his might at the wall. Kurt winced as the shoe hit the ground. _

"_That fucking asshole! He's the one who deserves to be dead!" Finn shouted, starting to punch his closet door. __**Finn never swears…**__ Finn continued to lash at the door, alternating between shouting and growling angry words. Kurt stood a few steps behind him and cried silently as he watched. _

_Finn stopped swinging his fists and stood with them clenched at his sides, panting heavily. Kurt took a few steps closer and put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm okay, Finn." Kurt whispered, even though he knew his brother couldn't hear him. Finn took a shuddering breath before swiftly turning around and falling back against the door, sliding down to the floor. Kurt watched as Finn rubbed angrily at his eyes with his fists, tears smearing across his face and hands while he started sobbing. He looked so small, Kurt thought. He kneeled down beside Finn's long legs and just watched him cry for what felt like eternity. His heart was beating rapidly against his ribs and he wanted so bad to just reach out and touch Finn, to comfort him. But he knew that he couldn't, that he never would. _

_Finally Finn stood and walked out of his room. Kurt followed him as he descended the stairs and padded into the kitchen. He ordered a pizza before taking a soda can out of the fridge and bringing it with him into the living room. Kurt watched Finn as he sat down heavily on the couch and turned the TV on. He absently turned the can over in his hands, occasionally taking a sip but never glancing at the TV. After a long while of a talk show playing on the screen without an audience, the doorbell rang. Finn hurried to put the can down on the coffee table and get his wallet out before opening the door. He took the pizza from the delivery man with an emotionless "thanks" before shoving a bill into his hand and closing the door again. Finn carelessly dropped the pizza box onto the coffee table before disappearing into the kitchen to get another can of soda. It was horrible for Kurt to watch his brother behave like this. Because Finn was so tall and clumsy, he was always careful in his movements at home so he wouldn't knock things over or break them. _

_Finn returned and placed the new soda can on the table next to the old one with a sigh. For the first time since he came home, he lifted his eyes toward the TV. He wrinkled his nose as he saw what was on, and if Kurt hadn't felt so heartbroken he would have smiled. Finn walked over to the media center and flipped through the DVDs for a few minutes. Kurt watched from his place in his father's armchair as Finn finally froze, holding a movie tightly in one hand. He took the disc out of the case and put it into the player before returning to the couch. He sat down and flipped the lid of the pizza box open, grabbing a slice and hungrily taking a big bite. Kurt whipped his head toward the television screen as a familiar movie jingle started playing. "The Sound Of Music"; one of Kurt's favorite movies. A sob-like laugh escaped him and he looked between the TV and his brother a few times. Finn had whined every single time Kurt had insisted they watch it together. But here he was, watching it voluntarily, all alone in the house. _

_Finn didn't even turn the movie off when his pizza was gone, only pausing it a couple of times to get more soda from the fridge. _

_When it did end Finn turned the media center off and left the pizza box and empty cans in the kitchen before walking up the stairs to his room. Kurt remained in the armchair, just staring at the now black screen for a few minutes, until he heard Finn's bedroom door shut. He walked slowly up the stairs and into Finn's room, only to find that it was empty. He went back into the hallway and followed Finn's voice. When he entered his own old room he found Finn curled up on his bed in pajamas. He walked closer and watched Finn trace the pattern on the duvet with his finger as he whispered softly. "I really miss you, Kurt. I knew I annoyed you most of the time, but it was awesome having a brother. I can't believe you've been gone for so long already. It still hurts as much as if it was yesterday. Just as much as the night those officers showed up at our door." Finn took a shuddering breath and wiped at his eyes slowly. "I knew I said it way too rarely and I know it's too late now, but I- I love you, man." _

"_It's not too late." Kurt whispered as he laid down on his side on the bed, facing his brother. "I love you too, Finn." Kurt tried to meet his eyes, but he couldn't since Finn was back to tracing the pattern with his finger. "You'll be okay too, some day." _

_Finn sighed heavily before getting under the covers. "I hope you are sleeping well." Finn mumbled before turning his nose into the pillow and drawing in a deep breath. _

_Finn was smelling Kurt's pillow. _

_Kurt felt a small piece off his heart get ripped off at the realization. Finn reached out a long arm and turned Kurt's bedside lamp off before curling up to sleep. _

"_Sleep well, Finn." Kurt whispered and patted his brother's brown hair, before closing his eyes too._

* * *

><p><em>Kurt came back to consciousness when he heard whispering from the doorway. He lifted his head and saw his father and Carole standing in the dim light. <em>

"_I wonder what set him off this time." Burt grumbled, putting a hand on his wife's shoulder. _

"_Poor thing." Carole whispered and placed a hand on top of her husband's. "I bet it was someone at school who said something."_

"_It wouldn't be the first time." Burt squeezed Carole's shoulder lightly._

"_I'm just upset we weren't home to comfort him." Carole leaned her head to the side a little, still watching her son sleep. _

"_We haven't been out to dinner since Kurt died. He would have scolded us endlessly if we hadn't gone tonight." _

"_He would have." Carole smiled sadly. "Let's go to bed." She turned and kissed Burt's cheek before walking down the hall to the master bedroom. _

_Burt glanced after her before looking back into Kurt's room. He carefully made his way over to the bed and bent down, moving some hair off Finn's forehead to kiss it. Kurt was slightly surprised, until he heard his father's whispered words. "I lost one son, but I got one too. Sleep tight, champ." _

_Burt exited the room just as carefully, silently closing the door behind him. Kurt smiled and closed his eyes again._

* * *

><p>"When was the last time any of you saw him outside a classroom or the dining hall?" Nick asked the gathered Warblers.<p>

"Like three weeks ago." Trent said sadly.

"And has anybody gotten a text from him that wasn't a response to one you sent, during the last month?" he continued, and all the guys were either quiet or shook their heads.

"We need to do something about this." David said. "Any suggestions as to what we can do?"

"Movie-night?" Jeff suggested half-heartedly. "All of us?"

"That's probably the only thing we want to do that he would actually approve of." Wes remarked. "I don't think he'd be keen on having us all hug him until he stopped being grumpy." He glanced at Trent and Jeff who pointedly ignored him.

"He'll feel supported and loved, without having to feel like he has to share anything with us." Thad said. "And if he wants to open up to us, he'll know he can."

"We'll do that then." Nick concluded. "Jeff, Trent. I assume you're willing to make sure he makes it to the common room?"

Jeff and Trent both nodded eagerly.

* * *

><p>"BLAINE!"<p>

Blaine turned abruptly as someone shouted at him in the hallway on his way from English-class. Jeff ran toward him, elbowing the other boys who were in his way. Trent jogged after him. They stopped in front of Blaine, both panting slightly. Jeff put a hand on Blaine's shoulder to steady himself and grinned. "Hey, man. What're you doing tonight?"

"Um… Nothing." Blaine said hesitantly, seeing the mischievous glint in Jeff's eyes.

"Good." Trent said and looped his arm through Blaine's, steering him in the same direction he had come from.

"Where are you taking me?" Blaine said worriedly. "Guys?"

"Don't worry. We're gonna have an amazing night." Jeff grinned, skipping up beside Blaine and looping his arm through his free one.

"Can I at least change first?"

Jeff and Trent giggled. "Don't worry, I brought you sweatpants and a t-shirt." Jeff grinned as they turned a corner.

"And I brought you something **stylish**." Trent countered, lifting his chin proudly.

* * *

><p>Blaine was ushered into a common room where all his Warbler friends were scattered on the furniture. The sweatpants and t-shirt Jeff had mentioned was thrust into his arms before he was pushed into a joined room to change.<p>

When he returned and put his folded school uniform on an empty chair the guys had apparently been busy getting snacks and ice-cream from somewhere. Blaine was tugged down into a sofa between Trent and David as Jeff turned on "Inception" on the big flat screen TV.

"Oh my GOD!" Thad exclaimed when the credits started rolling. "My brain is mush!"

"What it my life?" Wes flopped dramatically onto the floor.

"I don't get it…" Jeff mumbled to his boyfriend who patted him lightly on the head.

"I'll explain it later, babe."

"Come on, guys!" Blaine chuckled. "It wasn't THAT intense."

"It sure was the most intense movie I've ever seen." David argued.

Blaine laughed at his friends as they started mumbling theories and such amongst each other. Trent inched closer to Blaine as David got off the sofa to help Wes get off the floor. "Are you having fun?"

Blaine frowned slightly. "Of course I am. I'm having a movie night with all of my best friends."

"Who you have barely talked to for weeks."

Blaine bit his lip as he realized everybody had gone quiet to listen to his and Trent's conversation. "I'm sorry guys." He looked down at his hands on his lap, twisting them together for a moment. "I haven't heard a word from Kurt in a month now."

"Nothing at all?" Jeff said disbelievingly.

"At least that means he hasn't broken up with you." Nick tried to comfort him. "Have you called him?"

Blaine hadn't actually visited the Hummel's to try to bring Kurt back, but he had to lie to his friends anyway… "He won't answer. Not to texts either."

"Well…" Trent put a hand on Blaine's knee, and their eyes met. "We'll do everything we can to cheer you up until he comes to his senses."

Blaine lowered his eyes again, feeling them prickle with tears. "What if he never does?" he whispered hoarsely.

"He will." almost all of the guys said in unison and Blaine smiled a little.

* * *

><p><span>Thursday the 15<span>th of March 2012

Four days later Blaine once again returned to his empty room after classes ended. For some reason today felt like the worst so far. He had barely shut his dorm room door when the tears pooled in his eyes. He yanked his tie off and threw it carelessly over his desk chair, the blazer following shortly after. Blaine walked over to the bed and removed his pants, socks, shirt and under-shirt before pulling his sweats on. Nowadays he kept them on the floor next to the bed, where he could easily reach them as he got back to his room after class every day.

When he was covered up to his collarbones by the duvet he couldn't keep the tears at bay any longer. He hadn't cried this much for such a short time in all of his life. It had been thirty-three days since he'd seen Kurt's ocean eyes or heard his angelic laugh, and it was starting to drive him insane. He couldn't for the life of him hear the sound of Kurt's voice in his head anymore, and that was the worst of all. He knew he loved Kurt's voice and how he pronounced words like "wrong" and "song", but that didn't change the fact that they had stopped echoing inside his mind.

His phone buzzed a few times from inside his blazer pocket on the chair, but he ignored it. The tiny hairs on his upper body stood on end as he shuddered, he was freezing. He momentarily wondered if he was coming down with a fever. There was a soft knock on the door, but he ignored that too, only staring at the ceiling as more tears fell. This time the knocking was louder, more forceful.

"I don't want to talk right now, Jeff." he called, but his voice broke halfway through the sentence. "Go away."

The person outside the door knocked even harder.

"Please go away." Blaine whimpered.

The door creaked open slowly and Blaine turned over, hiding his face in his pillow. He heard the door close again and footsteps near the bed.

"What do you want?" Blaine mumbled and pulled the duvet over his head. "I just want to be alone."

The duvet was pulled away from his face, but he stubbornly kept his nose in the pillow, eyes tightly shut.

"Blaine, please look at me."

Blaine jerked so hard he hit his head on the headboard. He sat up quickly and met the ocean eyes he'd missed for weeks. "Kurt?" he breathed. If it wasn't for the fact that he had just hit his head and it was now hurting kind of badly, he would have thought he was dreaming.

"Hi." Kurt whispered, a blush creeping onto his cheeks but a sad glint shining in his eyes. "Don't cry." Kurt continued, lifting his hand to wipe Blaine's tears away with the tips of his fingers.

Blaine had to shut his eyes as the warm feeling of Kurt's skin prickled on his cheekbones. How he'd missed it. Blaine had many times during the last month thought that he would always feel slightly cold without Kurt's physical presence, without the stinging heat against his flesh. He dazedly opened his eyes and spoke, his voice coming out breathless. "You came back."

"Of course I did." Kurt smiled now, placing a hand against the side of Blaine's head. "I realized I can't be without you."

"This month has been the hardest one of my whole life." Blaine whispered, and shame filled Kurt's eyes. "Because I knew all along that I could never be without you."

Kurt curled his fingers into Blaine's hair and Blaine sighed contently. He looked deep into Kurt's eyes, and the smile returned to the brunette's face. Blaine's breath caught in his throat as Kurt leaned closer, pressing their lips together.

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued:<strong>

**Author's note:** YAY! Kurt is back! KLISSES FOR EVERYONE. Sorry. *clears throat* Please leave a review to let me know what you thought of the chapter. I love you all! ^^  
>(There might only be like 6 chapters left of this story... DUN DUN DUUUN)<p> 


	16. Chapter 16

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Glee, any of their characters or anything that can be related to something that exists in the real world.

**Warnings:** None, I think. Except for creys. xD

**Author's notes: **I'M BACK! I can never apologize enough about the about 10 months (I can't even believe it's that long) that I had a hiatus. If there are any readers left of this story: I'm SO sorry! And I hope you don't hate me or the new chapter. For those of you who care about my reasons for the hiatus I'll tell you, if not, do go on and read the chapter if you want. :)  
>So... <em>First:<em> I got a boyfriend, who is the most awesome peson in the world. I also worked full time until November, and from there until one month ago I was working on my driver's licence (which I finally got, WHOOP WHOOP). My bf is painting walls in our new apartment while I'm sick, so I have gotten a few days to just write. And ZEUS how I missed it! I am now working full time again so chapters may take time, but I promise I have NOT given up on this story or my other one (Apple Shampoo) yet! _Second:_ The Klaine break-up screwed me up bad. To make it short: I am still not sure how I feel about canon-Klaine, but it bothered me so much I even decided to stop writing Klaine fanfiction. But then I realized that Klaine in my stories' universes aren't really affected by canon, so I continued.  
>Anyway, enough rambling. I really hope you can forgive me, and that you like the chapter! :*<p>

* * *

><p><span><strong>Nailed Shut<strong>

Chapter 16:

Blaine inhaled deeply through his nose. Or rather one of his nostrils, since Kurt's nose was pressing the other one shut. He closed his eyes and moved a hand onto the side of Kurt's face, holding him in place. Blaine would never let him go away again. Kurt twisted his fingers further into Blaine's hair, angling his head to the side a little. Blaine's face felt all numb, the pleasant tingling spreading across his skin. He was pretty sure he'd get burns on his lips, but he didn't care at all. He wondered briefly if Kurt's tongue would be cooler-

Kurt pulled back and smiled, his cheeks an adorable shade of pink. "I've wanted to do that for so long."

Blaine pulled Kurt back against his lips with the hand still on his cheek, curling his fingertips around Kurt's jaw. Kurt responded immediately, scooting closer and parting his lips. He licked Blaine's lower lip and Blaine gasped as best as he could with their mouths against each other's. Kurt's tongue was just as warm as his lips, if not hotter.

It was way too much. Blaine felt his face crumble as Kurt moved his mouth to the corner of his own. A high-pitched whine left his throat before he had gathered the brain-capacity to stop it. Kurt pulled back and looked at him with worried eyes.

"_Are you okay?" Kurt whispered, unconsciously making space between them. But he kept one hand on the side of Blaine's face, absently rubbing his thumb against his temple softly._

"_I- um…" Blaine bit his lip, a tear catching on his eyelashes. It escaped when he blinked, sliding down Blaine's face slowly. "I'm __**so**__ happy. But my lips and my- my face…" he trailed off, moving his eyes to somewhere around Kurt's heart._

"_Blaine, please. Tell me. Does is hurt?" _

"_It's kinda… numb. And it feels like I'm going to get blisters on my lips." _

"_I'm so sorry." Kurt said barely audible, before clearing his throat and trying to sound hopeful when he continued. "It doesn't look like you will. And maybe you'll get used to it? Like you did with handholding. That's not uncomfortable anymore, right?"_

_Blaine looked back up and blinked at him a few times with his huge, golden eyes. Kurt was surprised when Blaine started smiling bashfully. "I sure hope I'll get used to it." The smile turned into a grin, and Kurt blushed when he realized what it was he had implied. He chuckled a little and now he was the one to move his gaze away from Blaine's. "Kurt?"_

_Kurt forced himself to lock eyes with Blaine again. The hope and fear he saw when he did made his stomach feel odd. "Yes?"_

"_Will you be my boyfriend?" Blaine said and took Kurt's hand._

"_Blaine…" Kurt sighed, but didn't pull away from the curly-headed boy. "We've been through this. I'm __**dead**__." _

_Blaine's smile didn't falter. "I know." He took a hold of Kurt's other hand as well, twining their fingers together. "We've been through this. I don't care. So, will you be my __**dead**__ boyfriend?" _

_Kurt had to laugh. Blaine really was impossible. "You are insane."_

"_I'll take that as a… yes?" Blaine smiled wider and Kurt couldn't help doing the same. _

"_Fine." _

"_I accept "fine" as an answer too." Kurt's heart swelled as Blaine leaned toward him and kissed him again._

* * *

><p><span>Monday the 26<span>th of March 2012

It took a minute before the door slowly opened, revealing Kurt's father. "Blaine?"

"Hello sir." Blaine said politely. "Do you have a moment? Kurt has something he wants you to know."

"Oh." Burt replied unsurely. "Yeah, sure. Finn's at football practice and Carole isn't home from work yet."

He gestured for Blaine to step inside. Blaine walked into the living room and sat down on the couch, Kurt tentatively following. Burt descended into his armchair and trained his eyes on Blaine. "What did he want to say?" he asked gruffly.

Blaine looked at Kurt for a moment as the latter answered. "I was here a little while ago and saw how hard my death still is on you three. So I guess I just wanted you to know I'm okay. Better than okay, actually. I'm happy."

Blaine repeated his words to Burt, who now looked away, chewing on the inside of his cheek for a second before looking back at Blaine. "Happy?" he questioned disbelievingly.

Blaine swallowed and nodded. "Yes, sir."

The sound of a car pulling up in the driveway reached their ears. "I'm glad he's happy." Burt moved his eyes to the front door. "Carole's home. You should go." He stood and gestured for Blaine to move toward the door. "Thank you though, Blaine. Really."

He stumbled a little as Burt ushered him into the hallway and held the door open for him.

"Kurt?"

Blaine turned around to see Anette behind them. He looked back at Kurt who blinked a couple of times. "I'll just be a moment. You go wait in the car." he said and walked up to his mother as Blaine stepped onto the front steps.

Carole was at the bottom of them and looked up when she almost walked into Blaine. "Oh! Hello there." she said and smiled politely. "Blaine was it, right?"

"Blaine was just leaving." Burt said hurriedly.

"It was nice to see you." Blaine croaked.

"You too, dear." Carole managed to say before Burt grunted a "Bye Blaine." and shut the front door.

Why didn't Burt want Blaine to see Carole and Finn? Was he afraid Blaine might tell them about Kurt? And why was he afraid of them knowing? Blaine just didn't understand.

He didn't look back as he walked slowly to his car, unlocking it and getting in the driver's seat. When he was seated he put the seatbelt on and started watching the door, waiting for Kurt to come out.

* * *

><p>"Hi."<p>

Blaine's eyes moved from the front door - that hadn't moved since he himself came out of it more than ten minutes ago - to the passenger seat where Kurt was now sitting. "How did you get there?" he said a bit more high-pitched than he'd intended.

"I teleported!" Kurt chirped happily, like it was obvious.

"What?" Blaine's voice rose even higher and he had to clear his throat to prevent it from happening yet again.

"Mom asked me why I came here in the car with you and I asked her how else I'd get here." Kurt started rambling excitedly. "And she said she teleports everywhere! But I didn't know how to do that so she taught me!"

"Right now? In ten minutes time?" Blaine's brows furrowed as he looked skeptically at his – and his heart swelled as he thought it – boyfriend.

"Yeah! It's really easy. Look!" Kurt exclaimed, and suddenly he was gone.

Blaine stared at the empty air where Kurt had just disappeared, until something sounded behind him. He turned his head around to find Kurt rapping his knuckles against the window. But then he was gone again, and Blaine first looked toward the passenger seat but it was empty. His gaze traveled wildly around through the windshield until he spotted Kurt on the roof of the house. Blaine's heart skipped a beat and before he had time to think that Kurt was dead - that he couldn't fall and get hurt - he was on the front porch of the house. And suddenly something poked Blaine's shoulder. He blinked slowly and turned to Kurt who was back in the car.

"How did you DO that?" Blaine exclaimed, putting a hand on Kurt's knee so he wouldn't disappear again.

"I just think of a place where I want to be, imagine myself there and POOF!" Kurt gestured wildly with his arms. "I'm there!"

"Kiss me." Blaine demanded, grinning at how giddy and silly Kurt was acting.

Kurt started. "What?"

"Kiss me." Blaine repeated. "Please!"

"Oh. Okay." Kurt blushed a little but leaned forward and pressed his lips to Blaine's.

Blaine sighed blissfully as his lips started tingling. He pulled back for a moment just to whisper against Kurt's lips. "You are amazing."

At that, Kurt put both his arms around Blaine's neck and kissed him harder.

* * *

><p><span>Wednesday the 11<span>th of April 2012

_Kurt shifted in the armchair, settling in a cross-legged position; not realizing his knees were pointing out through the sides of it. Blaine's phone started ringing on the nightstand and Kurt looked up from the poetry-book he was reading and saw Blaine glance up from his textbook on the bed. "Who is it?" Kurt asked, flipping a page in the book. _

_Blaine picked the phone up and looked at the screen. He looked confused for a second before replying. "It's your dad." He looked questioningly at Kurt, as if he was wondering if he should answer._

"_Answer it, then." Kurt said, putting the poetry book on the floor and standing as Blaine answered the call. _

"Hello, sir." Blaine said politely as Kurt sat down beside him on the bed.

"Hello, Blaine." Burt began, and sighed heavily. "I really don't know how to say this, so I'm just going to come out and say it. Okay?"

"Okay." Blaine said hesitantly. This didn't sound like it was going to be a pleasant conversation.

"I don't want to hear from you again." Burt continued, and Blaine froze. "I want to thank you for your incredible kindness about this situation you have with Kurt. But since you told me he's still here, I've only felt worse than I did before. I can't concentrate at work, I can't sleep. When Kurt's mother died it took me months to recover enough to function properly again. And losing my son has been so much worse. Kurt is dead, and we can never again have what we had when he was alive. You told me a couple of weeks ago that he's happy now, and that's enough for me. I can start to really move on now, accepting that he's gone but knowing he's really in a better place."

"I understand." Blaine said and avoided looking at Kurt who was bouncing excitedly next to him, waiting for Blaine to tell him what his father had to say.

"Tell him I love him, alright?"

"I will. Bye sir."

"Goodbye, Blaine. Thank you."

"What did he say?" Kurt beamed as Blaine hung up. "Is he ready to go see your grandmother?"

"Kurt." Blaine said carefully and took one of Kurt's hands in his own. "Please be still."

Kurt stilled and cocked his head to the side. "What is it?"

"Kiss me." Blaine asked and put his free hand against Kurt's cheek, burying his fingertips in his hair.

"Okay?" Kurt leaned forward and kissed him fast, still waiting.

Blaine was about to break his boyfriend's heart. "Okay, Kurt. Finish listening to me before reflecting on what I'm going to say, okay?"

"You're making me nervous, Blaine. What did dad say?"

And Blaine told Kurt what his father had said, as close to word-to-word as he could. He saw Kurt's face change from nervous, to shocked, to angry, to sad and finally settling on heartbroken.

"What?" Kurt whined, tears pooling in his eyes. Eyes that Blaine was sure changed color according to Kurt's mood, because at the moment they were close to gray. "He doesn't want anything to do with us?"

"Kurt, you know that's not it. It's complicated." Blaine tried, scooting closer to Kurt on the bed. Kurt started sobbing into his hands and Blaine tried putting his arms around Kurt, but they went straight through him. That cold-spot-feeling Blaine felt when Kurt wasn't solid spread across his arms before he pulled them back against his chest. He felt helpless. "Kurt, concentrate on being solid. I can't hold you if you don't." Kurt didn't respond, he just kept crying. Blaine tried putting his arms around Kurt again, but the same thing happened again. "Please, honey." he pleaded, tears forming in his own eyes as well.

Suddenly he was lying on his back on the bed, Kurt nuzzling his wet face against Blaine's neck. Blaine raised his arms and wound them around Kurt's shaking torso. Kurt continued to sob, clutching at Blaine's shirt. Blaine lifted one hand to stroke through the hair at the back of Kurt's head with his fingertips. "Shh, Kurt. You'll be okay." he cooed.

They stayed like this for a long time until Kurt moved down from Blaine's chest and crawled in under the crook of Blaine's arm, resting his ear against Blaine's chest. Blaine hugged him close as he sniffled.

"You'll be okay, baby." Blaine whispered after a while. "I'll take some time off school and we can stay in my house and I can just hold you and comfort you for as long as you need me to." He kissed Kurt's hair and waited for him to answer.

When he didn't, Blaine looked down at his eyes and realized they were closed. Again, Kurt had worn himself out completely. Blaine brushed his fingertips through Kurt's hair, reveling in the feeling of Kurt's warmth seeping into his skin through his shirt. He didn't think about the fact that Kurt was solid, even though he was now sleeping, before he himself drifted off into sleep.

* * *

><p><span>Thursday the 12<span>th of April 2012

_Kurt startled awake, feeling like he was drowning. He couldn't breathe properly and frantically grasped the fabric in front of him. _

"_Kurt, calm down." _

_Kurt's eyes focused on Blaine, and he quickly stopped clawing at him. "I'm sorry. Horrible dream." Kurt blushed a bit and tried to inch away from Blaine, but he just pulled Kurt closer. _

"_It's okay. You passed out while I held you."_

_Kurt tried to stop his blush, nuzzling his cheek against Blaine's shoulder._

"_Do you want to talk about it?" Blaine asked softly, running his hand across Kurt's arm. _

"_No." Kurt whispered, and Blaine didn't argue. They just continued to lie there in silence, Blaine slowly stroking his fingers up and down Kurt's arm. Kurt lifted his head a little to peek at the clock on Blaine's bedside table. It was almost three in the morning. "You should sleep, so you won't fall asleep in class."_

"_I will take the day off to comfort you. And if you need it, I'll take a few more days or weeks off school so we can stay in my house until you feel better." _

"_You shouldn't." Kurt protested weakly. He didn't want Blaine to do that, but he really needed him to. He was unsure if he could… survive, if he didn't have Blaine to help him get through this. _

"_I'll go down to the administration building in the morning and fill in some paperwork and then we can leave for my house. But let's rest for a while, you must be exhausted."_

"_I am." Kurt sighed. "I feel like I didn't sleep at all, if you can even call my ghost-unconsciousness sleeping."_

_Blaine just hushed Kurt gently and stroked his fingers across his skin. He met Kurt's eyes before closing his own and releasing a breath. Kurt sighed and closed his eyes as well, his head following Blaine's chest in its slow, steady rise and fall._

* * *

><p>When Blaine woke up in the morning Kurt was still asleep, so he silently snuck out the door and toward the administration building.<p>

He made sure to look as bad as possible as he entered the building and greeted the receptionist. He asked her for the papers needed for absence due to sickness, and coughed in the crook of his arm for good measure. The receptionist handed him the papers and gave him her get-well-wishes. Blaine thanked her and walked slowly out of the building, hoping his faked illness had fooled her.

He filled in the papers and left them at the principal's office, before going back to his room to pack up the things he was going to need at the house. Kurt was still asleep when he returned so he sneaked around, quietly pulling books out of their shelf and stuffing them in his bag. Blaine was a little nervous about how long he would be away from school to tend to Kurt, since he would be graduating in less than two months. But Kurt was more important, Blaine decided.

* * *

><p>Kurt broke down crying again when he woke up, realizing everything wasn't a bad dream. Blaine held him as he sobbed incoherent sentences, where the only words Blaine could make out were "dad" and "why".<p>

Finally Kurt calmed down enough so that Blaine could understand what he was saying. "Can we please go to your house, Blaine?"

"Of course we can." Blaine smiled softly and wiped Kurt's wet cheeks. Blaine glanced at the clock and thought that his friends should be about halfway through their first class of the day right now. So Kurt and Blaine got ready and got in Blaine's car, beginning the drive away from Dalton.

* * *

><p>Kurt managed to keep it together until they got through the front door, but Blaine's bags were discarded in the hallway as Blaine led his sobbing boyfriend into the bedroom to cuddle. He hoped dearly that Kurt wouldn't be this sad for long, because it hurt his soul to see him cry. It was even worse than when he cried himself. Even if Blaine had endured some rough times in his life, he couldn't imagine how this would feel to Kurt. So he just held him and whispered all the loving words he could think of in the brunette's ear.<p>

* * *

><p><span>Tuesday the 17<span>th of April 2012

They had spent almost a week away from Dalton now, but Kurt was crying just as much and as frequently. Blaine had barely had time to eat, sleep or let alone do his studying. But he didn't mind, he just wanted Kurt to feel better. So he pulled his shaking boyfriend closer and sang to him under his breath, stroking his fingertips through his hair.

When he finished singing Kurt sniffled and met Blaine's eyes. "I just don't understand."

"You probably never will. You just have to know that your father loves you." Blaine said and moved a lock of Kurt's hair away from his face. "And that I love you."

It had slipped out before Blaine had time to react, and now Kurt's eyes seemed bigger than ever.

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued!<strong>

**Author's note:** There it is! So I really hope I didn't give you a horrible chapter after this hiatus. Next chapter you'll get Kurt's reaction and also Kurt's birthday. :D  
>Please leave a review to let me know what you thought of the chapter! I love you all. ^^<p> 


	17. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Glee, any of their characters or anything that can be related to something that exists in the real world.

**Warnings:** None, I think.

**Author's notes: **Surprise! Now that I've updated so crappily recently, I decided to continue writing right away. I've been sick and my boyfriend has been painting walls and switching out the floor in our apartment (that we are moving into in a week) so I've had a bunch of time to write. Anyway, I wrote this whole chapter yesterday. So I hope it's not bad. xD Now, on to the chapter. Enjoy! ^^

* * *

><p><strong>Nailed Shut<strong>

Chapter 17:

Tuesday the 17th of April 2012

Blaine was too afraid to say anything and Kurt just looked at him, his eyes still wet from crying.

"You do?" Kurt finally said and sniffled, his eyes filling up with tears again. "You love me?"

"Of course I do." Blaine breathed, carefully but surely.

"But I'm dead." A tear escaped Kurt's eye and slid slowly down his face.

"Kurt, we've been through this. You are alive to me. I can see, feel, hear and touch you. It doesn't get more real than that. And I love you, I really do. It's okay if you don't feel the same way about me, tough."

"I haven't even let myself think that far."

Blaine dried the tear off Kurt's cheek and started singing a quiet song to him. He hadn't even finished it before Kurt had passed out. Blaine kissed his forehead and smiled.

* * *

><p>Friday the 20th of April 2012<p>

_The past couple of days Kurt hadn't been able to think about much else than Blaine's love-confession, even momentarily forgetting about the reason the two boys were now spending so much time at Blaine's house. He was now crying both about his father's "abandonment" AND the combination of Blaine loving Kurt but Kurt being dead. Now that he had thought about it he had realized that of course he loved Blaine too. He just wasn't sure what this meant, how their future would look; if they even had one. But Blaine needed to know, Kurt though. These past few days since Blaine had told Kurt he loved him must have been horrible for him. To bare his feelings that way and not getting the same response back. But Kurt knew that Blaine had said it because that was the way he really felt, and that he hadn't said it just to get attention or pity or something. _

_Kurt sat in the armchair in Blaine's bedroom while his boyfriend was finishing off the dishes from tonight's dinner. It was rather late; Blaine had gotten some studying done before his meal, so darkness had now started to fall outside the big windows. _

_When Kurt heard Blaine turn the faucet off in the kitchen he closed the poetry-book – that he had been absently staring at while he thought about all the things going on in his "life" at the moment – and put it back in the shelf, sitting down on the edge of the bed just as Blaine entered the room. _

"_Hey." Blaine greeted his boyfriend and smiled. "How are you doing?" _

"_I'm fine." Kurt said and lay down on top of the covers on the bed. He gestured for Blaine to come cuddle, and Blaine did. Kurt rested his head on Blaine's chest and instantly relaxed. He traced abstract patterns on Blaine's t-shirt while listening to his breathing and the beat of his heart. _

"_You sure you're okay?" Blaine asked softly and ran his hand up and down Kurt's back. _

"_Uh-huh." Kurt mumbled back before twisting a little so he could gently kiss Blaine's neck. He imagined that he could feel the warm tingling Blaine always talked about that he felt when they touched skin on skin. But Kurt didn't know if he could actually feel it or if what he felt was just what Blaine's presence did to his brain. He followed the curve of Blaine's neck and kissed his clavicle. _

"_Kurt?" Blaine sounded unusually hesitant. "What are you doing?"_

_Kurt lifted his head to meet Blaine's eyes and smiled. "I love you." _

"_Really?" Blaine's face shifted from uncertain to giddy and happily nervous. _

"_Really. When I gave myself permission to think about it, it was obvious." Kurt leaned forward a little and kissed Blaine on the lips, a bit more passionately than he had planned. _

_But Blaine seemed to like it, if his own passionate response was anything to go by. Kurt readjusted himself so that he was straddling Blaine, kissing him like he was about to disappear forever. _

Blaine could not believe this was happening. The boy he loved actually loved him back. That Kurt was "just" a spirit gnawed at the back of Blaine's mind, but he couldn't care less at the moment. His lips were on fire from the contact with Kurt's and an odd sensation swooped through his stomach. He wasn't sure if it was happiness because of what Kurt had just said, if it was nerves because they had never been this close in this way before or if it was the way Kurt felt weightless but still solid on top of him. Blaine felt cocooned by the heat that Kurt's body emitted. The hot tingles seeped into Blaine's skin and spread all over his chest and down his legs. Blaine's brain had stopped working so he just threw his arms around Kurt's neck and kissed him with all the passion he had in his body.

The boys' frantic kissing halted when Kurt leaned back, blushing to the tips of his ears but with a dark glint in his eyes. He started pulling at Blaine's t-shirt, and it took Blaine about ten seconds to realize what Kurt's intensions were. Kurt leaned back further and started removing his cardigan as Blaine watched on, neither of the boys reflecting on what would happen when the spirit-clothing-item left Kurt's spirit-body. Blaine proceeded to remove his own t-shirt and tossing it on the floor before leaning back and watching as Kurt's cardigan and undershirt fell to the floor in a heap next to his own. Blaine's eyes stayed on the slightly see-through garments for a moment before he looked back at Kurt; his pale chest looking like it was faintly glowing in the dark room.

Before Blaine had time to admire Kurt's upper body more, the brunette had leaned down to kiss him again, their bare chests now pressed against each other. The sensation was so intense that Blaine whined loudly, squirming a little under the fiery touch of his boyfriend's skin. Kurt just continued to kiss Blaine, who was so overwhelmed by his feelings the grabbed a stronger hold on Kurt and kissed him more fiercely in half-frustration, half-relief. Kurt buried his hands in Blaine's curly hair and moved slightly; their chests rubbing against each other, creating more friction and heat.

"I love you. I love you. I love you." Kurt mumbled darkly between kisses.

Blaine just panted with his eyes squeezed shut. A growl of passion turned into another whine, and Blaine felt tears pooling in his eyes. He opened them to look at his boyfriend and a couple of tears spilled over and slid down his temples into his ears.

_Kurt leaned back, horrified. "Blaine? Are you okay?" _

"_It burns." Blaine replied shamefully and Kurt quickly scrambled off of him and picked his clothes off of the floor, beginning to put them back on. _

"_I'm so sorry!" Kurt croaked, tears forming in his own eyes as well. "I didn't mean to hurt you." Kurt's face crumbled and he stepped back toward the door._

"_No, come back here!" Blaine said and wiped away his tears with the back of his wrist. "It's okay. It was just too much at once." He reached his hand out toward Kurt, and Kurt slowly walked toward him while buttoning up the last buttons on his cardigan. "But it's just something I'll get used to, okay? It was amazing, though!"_

_Kurt sat down on the edge of the bed, keeping some distance between them but holding firmly onto Blaine's hand. "I got carried away. I'm sorry." _

"_I liked it, even though it was a bit intense. But don't let this scare you off. I want to do that again, but we can try in smaller doses." Blaine smiled and scooted toward Kurt. He kissed him softly and stroked his cheek. _

"_Your chest is all red." Kurt mumbled guiltily, looking at his hands on his lap. _

"_I'm sure I have some Aloe Vera or something in the bathroom. I'll be fine." Blaine showered Kurt's cheeks in tiny kisses and Kurt couldn't help but smile too. _

"_I love you." Blaine said, looking happier than ever. _

"_I love you too." Kurt replied, feeling happier than ever._

* * *

><p>Sunday the 29th of April 2012<p>

_The boys had been back at Dalton for almost a week now, since Kurt had refused that Blaine stay away from school any longer. Blaine had been busy catching up for the past week, having classes all day and studying all evenings and sometimes nights. The first day back Kurt had decided to tell Blaine he was going for a walk to think, but in reality he sat below the tree outside the building and cried. He had tried to make sense of Blaine's last talk with Burt, and Burt's reasons for and against giving up on having any contact with Kurt. But no matter how much he thought about it, it didn't make any more sense to him. He could understand all the possible reasons that Blaine had suggested the past weeks, but he just couldn't UNDERSTAND. _

_Kurt hadn't cried today. While Blaine was studying for the final chemistry-test he was taking the following day, Kurt had gone outside to sit under the giant tree. But no tears had come today. He sat watching his hand, clenching and unclenching his fist. _

Blaine heard footsteps stop outside his dorm room and looked toward the door. Suddenly Kurt came walking through it, without opening it.

"I got it!" he exclaimed, hurriedly sitting down on the desk next to Blaine's splayed out books and notes.

Blaine removed his glasses and folded them on top of his notebook. "Got what?" he asked confusedly.

"How to be solid, and then not solid! The mental button your grandmother told me about!" Kurt smiled wider than Blaine had seen him smile since his father's phone call a few weeks ago.

Blaine smiled back. "Show me." He turned in his chair, looking directly at his boyfriend.

"Okay, now." Kurt stood right in front of Blaine. "Not solid." Kurt lifted his arm and slammed it down toward the surface of the desk, but it went straight through. "Solid." Kurt continued to lift his arm, this time stroking his index finger down the side of Blaine's neck slowly. Blaine hummed at the tingling warmth seeping into his skin. "Not solid." Kurt repeated the gesture and this time Blaine shivered.

"That's great, Kurt!" Blaine smiled, rubbing absently at his neck.

"Not look at this!" Kurt walked over to Blaine's bed, standing beside it. "Not solid." he walked straight through the bed to the other side. He looked at Blaine and grinned. "Solid." Kurt walked backwards until his legs collided with the bed and he fell backwards, landing on top of the bed with a small huff.

Blaine stood and walked over. "How did you do it?" he asked as he lay down next to Kurt, his legs also dangling off the bed.

"I went for a walk and sat under that big tree, just thinking. I started looking at my hand and realized I hadn't practiced it for a long time. So I walked into the forest and tried walking through trees, picturing a big green button with the inscription "solid" on it. So I mentally pressed it and it worked perfectly!"

"I'm proud of you." Blaine smiled. Could you do it again?"

"Sure. Why?"

"I just want to try something."

"Not solid." Kurt mumbled and looked expectantly at Blaine.

Blaine lifted his hand and tried to brush Kurt's cheek, but it went through it. It was so strange. Blaine could see both Kurt and his hand at the same time. "Now be solid."

"Solid."

Blaine did the same thing again, this time stroking Kurt's warm skin. "Again." he commanded and Kurt mumbled "Not solid.". This time Blaine just looked at him. He could see Kurt clearly, but he seemed to be slightly see-through since Blaine could also see the dark blue duvet under him. "Again." Blaine blinked, and suddenly he couldn't see the duvet through Kurt anymore. "Wow." Blaine mumbled.

"Wow, what?" Kurt lifted an eyebrow.

"When you're not solid, you are slightly see-through."

"That's creepy." Kurt commented and frowned.

"It's cool." Blaine grinned and kissed Kurt's forehead.

* * *

><p>Friday the 4th of May 2012<p>

"_Blaine?" Kurt asked as his boyfriend flipped a page in his science-textbook. _

"_Yes?" Blaine replied, keeping his eyes on the book. _

"_Could we go to mom's grave today?"_

_Blaine turned around by his desk to look at Kurt, where he sat in his armchair looking out the window at the drizzling rain. "Of course. Any special reason?" _

"_Today it has been ten years since she died. I know I can see her now, but still…" he trailed off. _

"_You have a tradition?" Blaine suggested. "Sunflowers, I presume?"_

"_You know me so well." Kurt turned his head to look back at Blaine now, smiling ever so slightly. _

"_Then let's go." Blaine smiled and stood, starting to put on his shoes._

* * *

><p><em>It had stopped raining by the time the boys stopped at the flower shop so Blaine could buy a sunflower; and by the time they reached the cemetery the sun was peeking through the clouds. <em>

"_You want some time?" Blaine asked as he parked the car in the empty parking lot by the graveyard. _

"_Just ten minutes." Kurt said, and Blaine leaned in to kiss him on the cheek. _

_Kurt took the flower and got out of the car. He followed the little path toward the stone. As he stood by it he was hit with a weird sensation. He shivered as he read his own name on the stone, pushing away the vision of his dead body in the ground below his feet. He carefully laid the flower down by the marble stone and then sat down next to it, leaning his side against it. _

"_Hi mom." he whispered. "I know it's stupid for me to still talk to you here, but like Blaine said: it's become kind of a tradition." He took a deep breath. "I can't believe it's been ten years since you died. It feels like so much longer, but so much shorter at the same time. I know now what it's like for you, and I'm so glad I got to see you again, even if I had to die for that to happen." _

Kurt walked back toward the car smiling. Blaine smiled too at the sight.

"You have a good talk?" Blaine asked as Kurt got seated in the car.

"I did." Kurt smiled and buckled his seatbelt.

* * *

><p>Sunday the 27th of May 2012<p>

"Happy birthday to you…" Blaine sang quietly as he carried the cupcake with a lit candle toward his boyfriend who was sleeping on the bed. "Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday, dear Kuuuuurt!" he sat down heavily on the bed, Kurt yawning and slowly opening his eyes to look at Blaine. "Happy birthday to you." Blaine smiled and held the cupcake out toward Kurt.

"You know I can't eat that right?" Kurt mumbled as he sat up.

"But I can!" Blaine chirped. "Make a wish!"

Kurt thought for a moment before blowing out the candle. "Thank you, Blaine. Do enjoy."

"Thank you, yourself." Blaine said and removed the wrapping on the pastry. "What do you want to do today? Anything you wish!" Blaine took a big bite of the cupcake. "Oh, this is repulsive! Be happy that you don't have to eat it." He grinned and licked frosting off his lips.

"Lucky me." Kurt rolled his eyes, but smiled. "I don't know. I didn't really make any plans for my birthday. You know, since I'm dead and all."

"Come on!" Blaine whined, taking another big bite. "We can visit the zoo or the park."

"I would have thought you already had a master plan, considering what happened at Christmas."

"Oh, I have a plan. But that's for later. The day is free for you to plan." Blaine grinned before finishing off the cupcake.

"Could we go see a play? At the theater?"

"Of course! Which one?"

"Any. It's just been sooo long since I saw one."

"Sure. I have all my studying done, so we can leave right away if you want."

"One of the good things about being dead: you don't have to get ready in the morning."

* * *

><p>Blaine bought two tickets at the theater even though Kurt protested, but that meant that Blaine could hold Kurt's space so he could watch the play in peace without anyone trying to sit on him. Kurt very much enjoyed it, and babbled happily about it as they got in the car and Blaine drove them to the destination of his own plan.<p>

* * *

><p><em>Blaine stopped the car in front of a regular-looking villa with a big yard, but Kurt didn't question him. Blaine stepped out of the car and Kurt followed him up to the door of the house. A middle-aged woman answered the door after Blaine knocked a couple of times. <em>

"_Hello. My name is Blaine Anderson, I booked an appointment yesterday." Blaine smiled politely._

"_Oh, right. Nice to meet you." The woman shook Blaine's hand and gestured for him to come inside. "They are in the big room to the left._

_Kurt heard weird noises coming from the room, but followed Blaine in there anyway. _

"_Puppies!" Kurt squealed as they entered the room. _

_Blaine grinned at Kurt and nodded. "Samoyed." he replied and opened the gate to the little pen, stepping in and closing it again. A litter of fluffy, white puppies ran toward them and Blaine sat down to pet them. Kurt sat down as well, his stomach swooning from the happiness only the sight of puppies can bring you. But he noticed the way the puppies didn't acknowledge him and his heart sank a little. He watched his grinning boyfriend play with the dogs, and smiled again. That's when Kurt heard a small whine behind him. He turned his head toward the sound and noticed a lonely puppy lying on the floor not far from him. "Hi puppy." he tried, reaching his hand out toward it. The puppy looked at him and stood. He walked over slowly, sniffing in the air. When he stopped right next to Kurt's knee, Kurt reached his hand out toward it so it could smell him. The puppy sniffed his hand then just looked at it for a moment before licking it happily. So Kurt started petting the puppy, grinning so much his cheeks hurt. _

"_Remember not to pick him up. Puppies don't fly." Kurt turned to look at Blaine who was grinning as well, with a lap full of furry puppies. _

"Have you gotten to know each other a bit?" The lady from the front door entered the room behind them and Blaine turned to face her.

"We have. They are all adorable!" Blaine stood up and picked up the puppy that Kurt had been petting. "This is definitely the one." He heard Kurt gasp a little behind him, but pretended not to hear it.

"Then you can pick him up in a week or two when you are all settled in your house."

"Thank you so much, Samantha." Blaine carefully put the puppy down and got out of the pen to shake the woman's hand.

* * *

><p>When the boys got in the car to drive back to Dalton Kurt punched Blaine lightly in the arm. "You got me a puppy?!"<p>

Blaine laughed. "Ouch! Yes, I did. It's your birthday! Also, I thought it would be fun for Aimee when she visits and for you when I go to work later."

"And it will be fun for you when he pees in your shoes." Kurt chuckled. "Thank you Blaine, he is adorable."

"What do you want to name him?"

Kurt seemed to think for a moment, so Blaine started the car and left the driveway.

"His name will be Pavarotti."

"That's cute. Sounds more like a bird's name, though."

Kurt huffed. "Does not."

"I love it."

"What would you have done if none of them could see me? I haven't really heard of dogs that see ghosts."

"I had a backup-plan." Blaine smiled at the road while he drove.

"Oh, really? And what happens to that plan now?"

"You'll never know." Blaine chirped happily.

Kurt laughed. "I love you."

Blaine looked over at Kurt just long enough to reply. "I love you too."

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued!<strong>

**Author's note: **There you go! Kurt of course loves Blaine back! :D And Kurt can be solid and unsolid as he whishes! I hope you liked it! Please leave a review to let me know what you thought of the chapter! I love you all. ^^


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Glee, any of their characters or anything that can be related to something that exists in the real world.

**Warnings: **None, I think.

**Author's notes: **Um... hi. There are no apologies great enough to make up for the length of this hiatus. I'm sorry. I hope you don't hate me or the chapter. I love all of you, if there are any left reading this by now. I'm posting this un-edited for now. I just couldn't keep you waiting another day! If you're interested I'll tell you a little about what has happened in my life, that led to this hiatus. If you're not interested, do go on and read the chapter. I hope you'll like it! ^^ **I will NOT be giving up on this story, I promise.**

So. I moved in with my boyfriend, and it's been great. I got a baby brother in July (2013). I started university in the fall but stopped again in March because I hated it. So now I'm working full time as a gardener at the cemetery again. This has given me some time to write, luckily! Also I went on a vacation to Paris.  
>So yeah, doesn't sound like much when I write it out like that. But it's felt like a lot. Anyway. Hope you're all doing good. Enough rambling. I really hope you can forgive me, and that the chapter isn't bad. Enjoy! :*<p>

* * *

><p><span><strong>Nailed Shut<strong>

**Chapter 18:**

Wednesday the 1st of June 2012

"Are you ready?" Kurt asked giddily, smoothing the shoulder-fabric of Blaine's graduation gown.

"I'm nervous." Blaine replied, trying for the seventh time to get that darned lock of hair to lie flat on his head.

Kurt grabbed his boyfriend's shoulders and gently spun him around to face Kurt instead of the mirror. "You look great, you're done with the school-work and your room is all packed. Now you just have to walk across that stage, shake hands with the principal and get that piece of paper from him. That's all; you're already done. And I'm so proud of you!" Kurt gently lifted Blaine's chin so he would meet Kurt's eyes instead of looking at his fidgeting hands.

Blaine gazed from one of Kurt's eyes to the other and back a couple of times, taking a breath. "Thank you, Kurt."

"I love you. Now, let's go, so you're not late." Kurt grabbed Blaine's hand as they headed out the door.

* * *

><p>Blaine refused to let go of Kurt's hand as he stood and waited for his name to be called during the ceremony, not caring if people found it odd that ha was seemingly gripping onto thin air.<p>

_"Do you want me to come with you on stage?" Kurt asked carefully, watching the side of Blaine's head as the latter stared at the place where he'd walk onto the stage._

_"I do, but I need to do this alone; for myself." Blaine replied in a whisper, turning his head to look at Kurt. _

_"Alright, then I'll just-"_

_Kurt was cut off by the call of Blaine's name on the stage. Blaine's eyes looked terrified, but he let go of Kurt's hand and started ascending the stairs. _

_"I love you!" Kurt called after him, before teleporting to the space right below the stage. He watched as Blaine walked up to the principal with a huge grin on his face. Just like when Blaine had performed at the Christmas-concert, the nerves he had before had been left backstage. Blaine shook the principal's hand and received his diploma before walking off the stage on the other side. Kurt teleported there in a moment and grinned at Blaine as he walked over to him. _

_"Congratulations!" Kurt exclaimed and hugged Blaine, who stood still, simply angling his nose into Kurt's neck as he was embraced. He let go again and they both just grinned at each other for a moment, until a high-pitched squeal cut through the chatter around them. _

_"BLAINEY!" _

_Kurt turned around as Blaine leaned to the side to catch a glimpse of Aimee running toward them through the crowd; Charles following closely behind and apologizing to the people Aimee had bumped into on her way. Kurt stepped to the side right in time before Aimee threw herself at Blaine's legs. Blaine laughed, picked his little sister up and settled her onto his hip, wrinkling his graduation robe in the process. "Hi Aimee! You came!" _

_"Of course!" the little girl grinned and kissed her brother's cheek. "You gratutated!" _

_"Graduated, lady Aimee." Charles pointed out as he reached them. He shook Blaine's hand. "Congratulations, sir." _

_Kurt became un-solid and stepped back into the crowd, to the point where he could barely see Blaine behind all the graduates and their loved ones, but could hear him clearly._

_"Thank you, Charles." Blaine replied and smiled politely. "I'm glad you could make it."_

_"We wouldn't miss it for the world, sir." Charles put a hand on Blaine's shoulder for a moment, before retracting it and reaching into his pocket. "I've got something for you." He pulled out an envelope and held it out toward Blaine._

Blaine took it and stared at the message on it for a moment.

"What is it?" Aimee asked from where her head was resting on Blaine's shoulder.

"Grown-up stuff." Charles stated but smiled at the little girl.

"It's from mommy and daddy." Blaine said. "It's mommy's handwriting."

"It's the papers for the house." Charles explained. "They are all filled in. You just need to sign them on your birthday and post them to the stated address. Then the house is yours." He tried to smile, but it was more apologetic than happy.

"I want a house too!" Aimee whined. "Just as pretty as yours, Blainey!"

"I'm sure you will have a beautiful, big house when you grow up, honey." Blaine smiled and kissed the top of his sister's head.

"I'm afraid we have to go now, lady Aimee." Charles sighed. "We mustn't be late for your mother's dinner."

Aimee pouted as Blaine put her down. "I will see you soon, baby." he said and stroked her cheek with the back of his hand. "You can come visit on my birthday!"

Aimee turned toward Charles. "Can I? Pretty please?" she pleaded.

"I'll see what I can do." Charles promised and took the little girl's hand, nodding to Blaine before the two disappeared into the crowd.

Blaine had barely started looking around for Kurt when suddenly a crowd of Warblers in graduation gowns surrounded him.

"Hey Blaine! Was that your little sister? She's gotten so big!" Trent grinned before giving Blaine a hug. "Happy graduation!"

"You too." Blaine grinned as Trent pulled away.

"GRADUATIOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!" Jeff squealed, jumping up and down.

Nick put a hand on Jeff's shoulder to calm him down. It didn't do much.

"Hey there, Wes. Almost didn't recognize you without the blazer." Blaine teased.

"Hilarious." Wes mumbled. "I can't wait to get out of this hideous thing."

"So where are you all going off to now?" Blaine asked.

"Harvard." Wes smiled slightly, seeming to forget about the gown.

"I'm taking a year to decide what I want to do with my life." David smiled as well.

Thad sighed. "Community college. Didn't get into the school I originally wanted."

"I've gotten a job at a thrift store, actually. Through someone my mother knows. I think I'll like it." Trent grinned widely.

"I'll go wherever Nick goes." Jeff stated and stopped bouncing, looping his arm through his boyfriend's.

"And I have no clue, yet. Hopefully California." Nick said.

"I'm gonna be famous!" Jeff chirped.

"That's all great!" Blaine said before they all hugged each other. "I'm moving into my house and I have a couple of job-offers locally that I'm choosing between."

"That's great!" a few of his friends exclaimed.

"Well, I guess we all should get going. Family dinners and stuff to attend." David smiled.

"Don't be a stranger!" Wes called as Blaine's friends all scattered into the crowd where they had come from.

* * *

><p><em>"I'm sorry that I can't help." Kurt sighed as Blaine returned into his dorm room to pick up another box. <em>

_Kurt had watched for almost thirty minutes now, while Blaine carried box after box to his car outside. There weren't that many boxes, but the distance from Blaine's room at the end of the corridor, down all the stairs, through the halls and out into the parking lot was very long. Also, Blaine had more stuff than one would think could fit inside such a small dorm. _

_"It's fine. Really! I just wish I could carry more boxes at once, so I didn't have to walk all the way as many times." He bent down and put his hands through the handle-holes in a box labeled "bedding". As he tugged it, he almost fell forward over the box. "WHAT?!" Blaine shouted at the box. He ripped the top flaps of the box open to reveal that the contents were all books. _

_Kurt tried to hold his giggle in, but failed miserably. _

_"I should have read the labels on the boxes before I packed the wrong stuff in them." Blaine sighed. _

_"You should have." Kurt smirked. "I love you!" he chirped as Blaine forcefully yanked the box off of the floor._

* * *

><p>That evening Kurt helped Blaine unpack the boxes. Here, where no one would see the items flying about. This time it was actually Kurt who moved stuff around while Blaine looked around and pointed to where he wanted every item. They decided to give up for the day when Blaine's stomach alerted them that it was time for dinner.<p>

"It's so strange to have all of my things here. This is home now." Blaine quipped between bites of the Thai-food he had ordered.

"I think that home is where the heart is." Kurt said thoughtfully. "Not where all your things are."

"Then my home is wherever you are." Blaine smiled softly as the blush spread across Kurt's cheeks.

* * *

><p>They sat on the couch in Blaine's living room and mindlessly watched TV while they cuddled. Kurt stroked Blaine's shoulder with his thumb. "So, what now?"<p>

"I assume you don't mean going to sleep?" Blaine teased.

"No. What are you going to do every day now that you've graduated? What are you going to do for money? Or will you study more? Move? We haven't really talked about it." Kurt stilled his thumb and looked at Blaine, who couldn't place the emotion he saw in his boyfriend's eyes.

"Well, actually…" Blaine scratched the back of his neck with the hand that wasn't on Kurt's arm. "I haven't just been studying these past few weeks. I've been applying for jobs and such. I had two offers actually, but I have now decided on one."

"What is it?" Kurt sat up a little and smiled proudly.

"It's nothing fancy. I'm going to be a barista at this coffee shop called "The Lima Bean".

"That sounds nice." Kurt restarted rubbing his thumb on Blaine's shoulder. "When do you start?"

"On Monday."

"That's great! But will it be enough for bills and such?" Kurt frowned slightly.

"Money isn't an issue." Blaine admitted and looked back at the TV, slightly ashamed.

_Kurt knew that however it had happened, Blaine had gotten some money - how much he didn't know, but from what he understood it was quite a lot - from his parents. Kurt thought that it seemed like they gave Blaine the house and a bunch of money, so they wouldn't have to deal with him. Kurt hadn't understood how parents could ever care so little for their own child. But at least, he thought, they hadn't just thrown him out WITHOUT a house or a bunch of money…_

* * *

><p><span>Monday the 6<span>th of June 2012

_"You look dashing!" Kurt insisted, as Blaine frowned at his reflection in the mirror. "You're probably going to have to wear an apron on top of your outfit anyway, and nothing really matches that." Kurt frowned now as well, before spinning Blaine around by the shoulders and ushering him toward the front door. "Good luck! I love you."_

_"I love you too." Blaine said before shutting the door between his worried face and Kurt._

* * *

><p><em>While Blaine was at work Kurt sat in the kitchen contemplating what he could manage to arrange for Blaine's birthday. It was hard to think of something, what with Kurt being dead and all.<em>

* * *

><p><em>A little before five in the afternoon Kurt heard the door being unlocked, and promptly teleported to the hallway. <em>

_"Hi! How was your first day?" he asked giddily as Blaine's face came into view._

_"Hi!" Blaine responded and started removing his shoes. "My feet are sore! I'm not used to standing around that much, but I guess it'll pass soon. Other than that it was fun! I talked to a bunch of people, the other baristas are really nice and I got free biscotti!"_

_Kurt laughs. "That sounds wonderful." He kissed Blaine's cheek lightly. _

_"How was your day?"_

_"Hard." Kurt admits. _

_Blaine's face falls and he talks carefully. "Did you cry? Should I have stayed home?"_

"No. No no!" Kurt assures him. "Not that kind of hard. I was trying to come up with something fun for your birthday. But it's hard to arrange anything when you're dead."

"Oh." Blaine smiles again. "We're picking up Pavarotti that day, and I'm fine just staying home and make sure he adjust to his new home. And maybe we'll watch a good movie or something. I haven't celebrated my birthday in years, really."

Now it's Kurt's face that falls.

"And Charles said he would bring Aimee over. It'll be a cozy and laid back birthday. I'll have my sister, a fluffy puppy, and… you." Blaine smiles wide. "It'll be great."

"Are you sure?" Kurt asks, unsure.

"Of course!" Blaine walks toward the kitchen, Kurt just half a step behind him. "I'm starving!"

Kurt smiles at that. "Why am I not surprised?"

* * *

><p><span>Friday the 10<span>th of June 2012

Blaine gets off of work early on Friday and arrives home at about three.

"How was your day?" Kurt asks as Blaine enters the bedroom, just like he had every day this week when Blaine had gotten home.

Kurt puts the poetry-book he was reading back on the shelf.

"Great! I got a cupcake with a candle in it. One of the girls, Jessica, remembered that I told her about my birthday at lunch on Monday, so she made it for me."

"That was nice of her."

* * *

><p><em>"Shh, Pavarotti. You're safe." Kurt murmurs to the puppy as Blaine carries it in a travel cage from the car. "He doesn't seem to like the car." <em>

_"It was his first time, so I'm sure he's scared." Blaine says as he struggles to pull the house key out of the pocket of his tight jeans. _

_The puppy whines in the cage as Blaine unlocks the door, and Kurt bends down to coo at him. "I know you're scared, but it's okay."_

* * *

><p>The puppy adjusts fast to Blaine's house. He wiggles around through all the rooms while sniffing the air. Kurt follows him around, taking pictures of him with Blaine's phone and doing a small house tour. "This is the bedroom. Don't pee in here." Kurt instructs the puppy, who just wags his tail. Blaine can't help but laugh from where he's standing in the doorway, watching them.<p>

* * *

><p>"PUPPY!" Aimee shrieks when her eyes fall on Pavarotti at Blaine's feet. She lets go of Charles' hand and throws herself at the puppy. "Hi puppy!" She holds her hand out and Pavarotti sniffs it carefully before he starts to lick it. "I like him." Aimee beams up at her brother.<p>

"Thank you for bringing her over, Char."

"You're welcome, sir. I'll be back in a couple of hours."

_When Charles leaves they move into the living room, Aimee crawling on the floor beside the dog. _

_"His name is Pavarotti." Kurt informs the little girl. _

_"I love him." Aimee says as she sits down on the couch. _

_"He's Kurt's puppy. Kurt got him for his birthday." Blaine says, lifting the puppy from the floor and setting him on his little sister's lap._

* * *

><p><em>When Charles comes to pick Aimee up she's asleep on the couch, the puppy curled up beside her. Kurt takes another picture before reluctantly lifting the puppy away from the sleeping girl and putting him down on his bed on the bedroom floor. When Kurt comes back into the hallway he stops and smiles fondly. <em>

_Blaine is carrying his sleeping little sister to the door on his hip, her face nestled against his neck and her dark curls falling over Blaine's shoulder. He has one arm supporting her weight and the other tightly across her upper body, a hand that looks large and strong on the back of her head, his fingertips buried in her hair. _

Blaine looks through the peep-hole in the door, careful not to squish his sister. When he sees Charles waiting on the doorstep he lowers his face toward Aimee's head, drawing a deep breath. The smell of strawberry shampoo fills his nostrils and he sighs contently. He kisses her forehead and whispers quietly to her, ever though he knows she's deep in dream land. "I love you."

Just as he is about to open the door, he feels a hand on his free shoulder. "Turn around."

Blaine does as Kurt says and finds that his boyfriend is holding the phone up toward him.

"You two are so cute." Kurt says and Blaine places another kiss on Aimee's head as Kurt takes a picture.

Kurt walks into the living room and Blaine turns around again to open the door where Charles is waiting to take the little girl home.

* * *

><p>Kurt has fallen asleep against Blaine's side on the couch. Blaine picks his phone off of the coffee table, careful not to rustle Kurt awake. He makes the picture of himself and Aimee his background, smiling fondly at it for a moment. He puts the phone back and turns his head toward Kurt. He kisses his forehead, and even though he too is deep in dream land Blaine whispers: "I love you.".<p>

* * *

><p><span>Friday the 17<span>th of June 2012

_Blaine got off of work early this Friday as well. Kurt was waiting for him in the hallway when he entered the house. "Hi. How was your day?" Kurt is kind of sick of hearing his voice say that, but he loves to hear Blaine's response every day._

_"It was… eventful." Blaine trailed off, not looking at Kurt as he locked the door behind him and took his shoes off. _

_"Good eventful or bad eventful?" _

_"I don't know."_

_"Tell me about it." Kurt walks toward the couch in the living room but stops when he notices that Blaine isn't following. He turns around to find Blaine fiddling with his hands, looking down at the floor by his feet. _

_"Blaine?" Kurt tries carefully, stepping toward his boyfriend. _

_"A bunch of college guys came in after lunch." Blaine mumbles quietly. "They were a handful."_

_"That's okay. I'm sure you did great." Kurt smiles and tries to still Blaine's twisting hands, but Blaine takes a step back. _

_"Kurt."_

_Kurt is worried now. A thousand scenarios reel through his mind. Did someone get Blaine fired? Did they make fun of him? Did they hurt him? _

_"Kurt, I… One of them asked me out. His name is Sebastian."_

* * *

><p><strong>To be continued! <strong>

**Author's note: **There you go! I really hope I didn't give you a crappy chapter after this horrifyingly long hiatus. In the next chapter you'll find out what is going on with Sebastian!

Please leave a review to let me know what you thought of the chapter! I love you all. ^^


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